The Loaded Gun
by Writing.Ragdoll
Summary: Call it a crash of faith. Dr. Sloane Gadsden is a doctor who is determined to find the cure of the disease that has abolished humanity. In her journey she will have to overcome many burdens. Yet are her heart and mind in the right place? Her behavior and daunting past don't make it any easier for others to trust her. It seems her intention aren't wholly pure; they are dangerous...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The fabrication and writing of this story is solely for fun and to practice my writing. I do not make or plan on making a profit on this story any time soon.

The Walking Dead, its universe, characters and original dialogue belong to its rightful owners and AMC.

* * *

 _If you are reading this odds are that I'm dead._

Well, let's try and keep an optimistic perspective, maybe I lost my notebook or perhaps you are going _know that this composition book is my life. It is the reason why I have remained sane in the midst of this chaos. The reason why I even bother writing the daily events of the apocalypse after the spread of the virus which I, myself named, "Nekros Apodosi" is so maybe it can help you or someone else in the nearby future._

 _Now, I don't mean to brag, but I have lived a remarkable life and so have some of the closest people in my life._

Perhaps you can learn a thing or two from _us so that you may avoid the same mistakes and survive._

 _I begin this anecdote with the day zero spread of the NA virus._

 **Day 0: Beginning**

\- NA Outbreak begins in California.

\- NA Patient 0, also known as Gloria, becomes infected and begins the worldwide spread of the virus.

 **Day 1:  
**

\- The _Nekros Apodosi Virus_ spreads to five states in the United States, people are becoming infected and death tolls are rising.

\- California's fall begins with traffic jams, choppers traffic the area and the military begins arriving as police officers become compromised.

 **Day 2:  
**

\- Infected area's begin loosing electricity amongst other basic services such as plumbing.

\- A victim in Los Angeles rises up and ravages neck of an EMT worker. The infected Undead attacks the officers around him and is resistant to police fire. People are starting to go missing.

\- NA makes people violent.

\- Riots begin. Chaos is unleashed in the city, local governments can no longer control the masses.

 **Day 3:**

\- My story begins on this fateful day.

\- Airplanes and other means of transportation become obsolete.

 _In order to properly describe the following accounts I will be narrating this story from a "Third Person Point of View."  
This if so that you may have an unbiased full description and a pretty good idea of who I am and what I'm like._

 **Location: [Palo Alto, California]**

A woman walked around her kitchen anxiously. On her left hand she was holding a dull coffee mug that had a bold "S" in college font printed on it.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she rolled her eyes stomping around in her heels.

"My flight leaves in an hour. I'm already late. I wanted to have this taken care off before I left to Georgia."

There was a silence in the room as somebody spoke on the other line. Meanwhile she sipped her dark coffee. A small, brown dachshund dog looked at her with a confused expression. She sighed, putting the mug down rubbing her temples.

"Listen-" She said sternly.

"I'm not the type of person that can just spare time. Specially with the current circumstances. For Pete's sake! We've been living separately for the last four years. Why can't he just sign the damn divorce papers?!" She shouted into the phone.

Again, there was a pause.

"Listen. I am not paying you, just so you can sit and moan. I know he's a hard man to keep track off. I don't care where he is I don't care if he's in Cambodia, Oymyakon, or the Pitcairn Islands. Just get him to sign the damn papers."

The person on the other line continued speaking.

"Wait-" she said suddenly as her phone screen began glowing.

"That's Q, he's here for me." She stated.

"Sorry for my outburst, I just- I just want to get this over with it's exhausting..." She added some goodbyes and hung up.

Everything in the luxury condo was extremely meticulous. A beautiful view of the city of Palo Alto stretching in the morning landscape.

"I have to go," she said picking up her dog and placing kisses all over its head as it attempted to lick its her face. She cooed some goodbyes in baby talk to her dog before her phone began to ring again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way down," she uttered as she got a hold of her luggage and made her way downstairs to the car that would be outside waiting for her. The dog-sitter shouldn't be long to pick Millie up.

"Sorry, I got hogged on the phone," She said shaking her head removing her sunglasses as she stepped into the back of the black suburban.

"Legal issues?" Q said as he flipped through some papers.

"The worst." She responded impatiently. "Where is it that Ted finds himself in now a days?"

"He's in prison," He stated dully.

"For what?" She said unamused not batting an eyelash.

"He willingly established himself in Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Leake County Mississippi. Was doing some research on the youth, wanted it to be unbiased without the Hawthorne effect," Q explained briefly.

Sloane shook her head "Typical…" She muttered darkly.

Qurban Samman, he is Dr. Sloane Gadsden's right hand and esteemed apprentice. With dark hair and brooding eyes hidden behind some sharp glasses he always stood to the Doctor's side. Always keeping busy with research, always willing to do _anything_ for  
his mentor, and always at her side. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I have the plane tickets, we have an appointed lunch with Dr. Candace Jenner and her husband, a scheduled conference on at the end of next week and a visit to your mother afterwards. We have two separate rooms at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. Thoughts?"  
He said almost in one breath.

"Show me what you got there," was the only thing she said sighing as she took the thick manila file from him.

Qurban and the doctor made way to the airport and made it to Atlanta without any trouble. The only issue they encountered was when Q had to pass his diabetic medications through security. Wearing her reading glasses Gadsden read over the reports that  
Q had handed her. They all retold different versions of the same story. A flu like disease, with symptoms such as vomit, fever, exhaustion and diarrhea was spreading around like wildfire. There was footage of undead victims rising and harming EDM  
officers in Los Angeles. They bite. They are immune to bullets. The disease had three days of being noticed since "Patient 0" came to the attention of medics in California and in such short time the disease had already spread to five different states.  
Whatever the hell this thing was, it was out of this world, people were rising from the dead and killing each other. It was almost like a sci-fi film.

Due to her impressive resume and her knowledge in the fields of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, she had been _personally_ contacted by the director of the C.D.C to step up and provide her insights into whatever this mysterious disease was.

When they arrived to Georgia both scientist realized that the ambiance here was not as chaotic as it was back in California. Presently, choppers were flying day and night shooting people, areas had started to blackout, mobs were rioting, the military  
had started to invade. Meanwhile, Atlanta seemed at ease. People were out and about laughing and dining the night away. They reached their hotel rooms and called it a night.

"Cute," Sloane said as she took a peach from the fruit basket that had been sent to her room by Candace and her family. A note read "Welcome to Georgia!"

 **Day 4:  
\- **California declared to be in state of emergency.

 **Location: [Atlanta, Georgia]**

"Dr. Gadsden! Dr. Gadsden!" The banging on the door awoke the doctor.

She groggily rubbed her eyes and wrapped a robe around her pajamas as she headed to the door of her small hotel room.

She opened the door to reveal Q standing there with a panicked expression on his face.

"This better be good," she grumbled stretching her arm allowing him in. He wasted no time and turned the TV on the news channel.

There was no available footage. However the headline read "CA: Governor of the State of California passes an executive order declaring a state of emergency."

"Q…" She turned to face him who was shouting in Arabic onto his phone.

"Dammit, service is down in California. I don't know where my family is…" he said running a hand through his hair nervously. A distant look was frozen in his dark eyes.

"I didn't think things would get this bad…" he said slowly.

Sloane was unsure of what to say to him (and not wanting to deal with his emotions).

"Qurban, if you feel the need to be with your family. Leave, I'll still pay you. We are in a time of crisis," she said calmly in a cool tone. Without any hesitation he sprinted out of the room to who-knows-where.

The doctor cursed and decided to dress up.

She continued doing her research on the disease the final reports read, "Contagion: exacerbated death tolls, a significant increase in violent crimes, an excess of bio-hazardous waste, and mass hysteria resulting in widespread power outages."

The document also mentioned evacuation programs and revealed that the Who had declared a public health emergency. Other reports read that the disease was spreading like wildfire in China, Ecuador, Mexico and the French were already working on a cure.

"What is this…" She said to herself shaking her head.

She had to get to a lab ASAP. By the time she had finished her research it was time for lunch so she made way to meet Candace and her husband. Qurban had decided to return to California and had not been seen since the morning. Sloane waited at the  
restaurant impatiently. She was amazed at how _calm_ everyone appeared to be. She knew that the government often times had a way of handling things and either the disease hadn't reached Georgia yet, or the government was doing a damn good job  
hiding it.

"Dr. Byrnes?" A voice suddenly made her snap out of her train of thought.

"Ah! Yes, Dr. Jenner." Sloane stood up to greet a tall woman with chestnut colored hair and her gray sleeked-hair husband.

"Dr. Byrnes it is a pleasure and an honor that you are available to join us for lunch," her husband, who had introduced himself as Edwin, said. Sloane hadn't taken the time to notice the elegant ambiance of the restaurant.

"Pleasure is all mine. Oh, and I no longer go by Byrnes, I divorced." She said with a nervous smile before taking a sip of water.

"But, yes- thank you so much for the invitation. I just hope that we are able to make a difference soon- with the state of things in California…" she said trailing off.

"Sloane," Candace began.

"I can assure you that we are doing everything we can right now. We only have small samples to work with. However, we are having some corpses and possible, some infected victims soon."

The doctors would engage in small talk about the local area "Glad you liked the peaches. I'm not from around here, so I have become rather fond of them," Edwin explained.

Sloane smiled tightly. She was biting her tongue. It was hard enough to keep her mouth shut about the disease or California. It was the thing a top of her list and she felt so useless not being able to do anything at the moment. She felt as if her  
blood was on fire. Feeling nauseous she didn't eat much. She attempted to distract herself by analyzing the relationship between Candace and Edwin. She could tell they were really in love. They still had that twinkle in their eyes when they looked  
at each other. Candace was all smiles and giggling and Edwin just seemed to glow. She couldn't help but wonder if she and her ex-husband had ever looked that way to others. They were halfway through the meal when she saw a familiar face in the restaurant.  
/"Q?" She wondered.

"Dr. Gadsden!" He exclaimed rushing over to the table. He caught the attention of a couple of snooty people who glared at him due to his misconduct.

"What happened?" She said not trying to make a scene.

Candace and Edwin looked at the man before them confused.

"All flights to California have been canceled."

He sat down uninvited.

"A plane came down today in Los Angeles. All airports and marine ports have been closed. There is nowhere to land."

It was unavoidable, the lunch turned solemn and dark. All the scientist barely even touched their food. Dr. Gadsden still couldn't stomach the gravity of what was happening to the world. There was an awkward silence looming even after Q apologized for  
his behavior. Dr. Edwin Jenner paid the check and with cordial goodbyes everyone went their separate ways.

In the drive back to the hotel Q said nothing. Sloane had already come to terms with it.

"Have you realized yet?" She began.

He remained silent. They paid no mind to the taxi driver.

"Everyone and everything you know in California is gone. Friends, family… even if you return. Nothing will be the same." She explained.

Q broke down into a mess of tears. He wailed uncontrollably. Sloane kept her back straight facing forward to the road ahead with dead eyes. Q didn't reply only continued crying.

"I'll miss Millie," she suddenly said.

"DAMMIT!" Qurban suddenly snapped aggressively.

"The world is ending and the only thing you can think about is your damn dog?!"

She narrowed her hazel eyes at him, "Well, what am I supposed to think about? Death is only natural. If there is something that is certain in this life is that everything that lives eventually dies. It is absolutely unavoidable, despite how much we like  
to pretend we can play God."

Sloane noticed they had reached their destination when Q tenaciously jumped out of the car and slammed the door behind him.

"Hey!" She shouted at him catching his attention.

"What are you going to do?" She said shrugging her hands into her pockets.

"Unlike you," Q began. "I am human and I need to mourn."

He continued wiping some lost tears of his handsome face.

"I need time to rest and miss my people." She looked at him with an absent expression.

"Ok," She responded with a tight-lipped smile. The fake smile that she would flash others in uncomfortable situation. She said nothing else and made her way back into the cab. Frustrated and feeling humiliated Qurban stormed back into the hotel.

 **Day 7:**

 **Location: [Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA]**

Much to Sloane's dismay. Two complete days had passed and she still had not heard anything from Edwin and Candace. She figured that due to air and marine ports shutting down in California it would become rather arduous to obtain an infected body. She  
hadn't heard any other reports from California. No one in the area answered. She had already accepted that everyone she knew was wither dead or in hiding. She had also come to terms with the fact that she was probably unemployed. Presently she was  
standing in front of a tank in the Georgia Aquarium observing the sharks swimming in the massive wall like tank before her. They swam gracefully and in harmony with other fish.

She felt a familiar presence behind her.

"Interesting, don't you think?" she inquired in a soothing voice. "I've always found it interesting how prey and predator can interact together…"

"I have been looking for you EVERYWHERE. Why haven't you been answering my calls?" She turned to face him with a blank expression.

"Well, I thought you said you needed to ' _rest.'"_ She said still holding that bored expression while doing air quotes.

As soon as she turned around he noted her ridiculous attire.

"W-What are you doing?" Q asked with wide eyes.

Sloane was currently wearing a pair of jeans, an oversized t-shirt that read "Georgia Aquarium" and had a turtle logo. She wore a cap with the Aquarium logo and she was wearing an obnoxious Coca Cola watch.

"Nothing. Killing time, touristing." She said shrugging.

"You? Not working?" He said amazed.

"I've come to terms with it. There is nothing I can do until the bodies get here from the West." She said shaking her head. "By the way you are fired." He looked at her in shock.

"Well-" she began, when her phone suddenly started ringing.

"Ann?" She said into the phone. Qurban still stood in front of her flabbergasted.

"Yeah," She said. "No, I don't want you to come down. No-No, weird things are going to happen... I would rather you stay home with mom. I have to give a talk next week. In the meantime I'll be working on fixing this mess. Yeah- and I'll drive up,  
don't worry. A'ight see you later." She hung up.

"Fired?" Qurban repeated in disbelief.

"Well," she began as they walked away from the shark tank.

"In case you haven't come to terms with it. Everyone you know in California is probably dead. Including my boss, meaning that I have nothing to pay you with. Hence, feel free to stick around. But don't expect a payment anytime soon. Enjoy your week  
in Georgia." She said casually. Q sighed in relief and shook his head.

"Doctor. I have never seen you _not_ working. If what you are saying is true. You are one of the few people that can make a difference for those who are still trapped in the West and for whatever is coming for us…" he swallowed the knot that  
had built on his throat.

His gaze briefly stopped on a fieldtrip of children that was pointing at a sea turtle nearby. The guilt he felt became almost unbearable. He looked at their round cherub faces which were glowing with their innocence. He knew that they would be ill with  
that flu that was killing everyone. And there would be nothing they could do about it.

 **Day 8:**

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]**

The next day, regardless of the infected bodies having come in to the C.D.C or not. Dr. Gadsden and Qurban went to work with Candace and Edwin.

 **Day 12:  
** \- Survivors in California are being kept in "Safe Zones" and curfews have been established for safety reasons. **  
**

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]  
**

\- California remains in an emergency state. Miraculously some reports by the military have come in. Those alive and uninfected are being kept in "Safe Zones" with extreme curfews. There are also "Dead Zones" which are forbidden. The disease has not  
reached Georgia-yet.

It was presently 4:32 AM at the C.D.C in Atlanta. Many scientist had decided to return home and be with their loved ones during these times of hardships. Leaving the remaining scientist to stress with the on going research of this disease.

"What do we know so far?" Sloane said running a hand through her hair brown hair. She was feeling exhausted. She had just removed her contamination suit and grabbed the coffee that Q had brought the other researchers.

"Just-just talk. This is not presenting numbers. If anyone disagrees with a statement they may reference their own results and numbers. I know it is an unusual way to run a meeting. However, it will be most efficient." She added.

"To begin with, we know the disease is neither a bacteria, a parasite or fungus." Edwin began.

"We have ruled out the possibility of it being a parasite, prion or even a bio-weapon," Another scientist spoke.

"Are we conclusive that it is a virus?" Candace nodded. The few scientist in the conference room all nodded in agreement.

"And evidence we managed to receive from Hawaii states that the virus has reached this state. Since flights from Hawaii have been closed since California declared a state of emergency can we concur that the virus is airborne. Evidence gathered from the  
spread to other countries such as China, Mexico and France at such rates confirm this theory."

"Due to transportation complications from the West we are currently working on receiving a body from the Southwest."

The team was dismissed for whoever wanted to opt out for the day.

 **Day 15:  
** \- Operation Cobalt is declared by higher powers and the entire West Coast is bombed in order to prevent outbreak.

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]**

* * *

 _Unknown to the scientist in the C.D.C..._ The outbreak starts becoming out of control. Operation Cobalt is declared by the higher authority. Confidential documentation is produced to provide instructions on executing it. Military personnel are  
told to pack lightly and are given assurance of their safety. Specific steps are given to be followed, and soldiers are to avoid arousing suspicion in the civilian population in the safe zones. Instructions regarding the handling of civilians and  
quarantined patients will follow separately.

Patients are beginning to become euthanized and bodies are being incinerated.

* * *

"In other news…" The woman on the television news began with a wide smile.

"California is no longer in a state of emergency. Trade, tourism and commerce will soon once again commence."

Qurban clapped his hands in relief and looked up to the heavens as if he was thanking God. Sloane on the other hand, looked down in fear. It was a gross lie. She knew the worst was yet to come...

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ah! The first chapter of the story. I began writing this story in May of 2016. After more than a year of writing I have just finished this story! So I hope I can upload and edit all the chapters soon.

I appreciate honest feedback. Thank you so much for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 16:  
\- **The East Coast looses communications with the West Coast.

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]**

The East Coast remains unaware of the happenings in the West Coast. Portland, San Diego, Vancouver and all other major coastal cities are bombed in an attempt to contain this epidemic to extend inland and as far as the Continental divide.

 **Day 17:  
\- **Los Angeles is bombed.

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]**

Bombs are dropped in Los Angeles.  
Soon, this will be the fate of many other cities in the East Coast.

 **Day 20:  
\- **Infected bodies arrive to the C.D.C.  
 **  
Location: [Center for Disease Control]**

"Sloane, get the hell out of here. You've been working Eight Days A Week for God's sake," Edwin said walking into the lab at 7:00 AM on the dot. Candace was behind him like the usual.  
"I won't. Disease doesn't rest." She said through her contamination mask.

Candace laughed at her response.  
"You've been wearing the same clothes for like the last ten days," she said with a frown in disgust.  
"When was the last time you slept?" She asked kindly.

Dr. Gadsden simply shrugged.

"Dr. Gadsden does not sleep. She is not human." Q said rolling his eyes in exhaustion looking over some papers.

"This is an executive order. You need to leave." Candace said sternly. Both her eyebrows were arched up in amusement.  
"Besides, don't you have a conference to give tomorrow? It's all over the newspaper," she said with a wide, proud smile.

"But the bodies aren't here yet!" Sloane protested.  
"We have some news," Edwin began. "The infection has began spreading to the south of Georgia. It's here." Edwin said slowly. "We should be receiving one of the infected bodies by this afternoon."  
"WHAT?!" She said loudly. "More the reason for me to stay and work! This is great news!" She exclaimed.  
Several scientist in the background just seemed concerned. Every day that Sloane had been in the lab the team had began diminishing to smaller and smaller numbers. Work had been getting harder and the disease had been spreading faster throughout the world. They had been in contact with the French who had some new findings every now and then however understanding their French reports was complicated. That's when Vi, the C.D.C's computer came in useful in translating all of these videos and documents.

"Look." Edwin began. "How about you go home for the day? You have been here for more than a week. Get well rested, _please_ bathe, go give your presentation and by the time you come back, the day after tomorrow, we will have an infected patient for you to work with. How does that sound?"

"The day after tomorrow?!" She was outraged.  
"Sloane. Leave the research to us. We won't disappoint you; We'll have something for you to work on as soon as you return."

Fighting the urge to scream. She looked at the scientist before them with dead-set eyes.  
"Fine," she growled out. "But, only with _one condition…_ "

 **Day 21:  
** \- Day of Dr. Gadsden's Symposium.  
\- NAV reaches Southern Georgia.

 **Location: [University, Atlanta, GA]**  
 **  
**Q was just relieved to _finally_ be out of the C.D.C. He admired and sometimes dreaded Dr. Gadsden determination.

"You know maybe this isn't too bad," she began when they were on their way to the university.  
"What? Working 240 hours a week?" He retorted sarcastically still tired.  
"No. I meant being stationed in Georgia. It reminds me of home," She said with a sigh.  
"You're from the South?" Q asked raising his eyebrows.  
"Why ya ask? Just cause I din't talk in a Southern' drawl biscuit?" She asked in an exaggerated Southern accent. "Yeah. I've lost my accent after all these years…" She responded after a moment.  
"I'm from South Carolina. That's where my family is." She answered.  
"I would've never known," Her right hand man mused.

"Any news updates?" She asked before they made way to the university.  
Qurban looked up the local news on his smartphone first.

"' _Sheriff Deputy shot in line of duty…' 'South of Georgia becomes infected flu expected to advance to the North…'_ That's all for Georgia. Nothing on California or any other parts of the world. Don't you recon we should be more careful now that the virus is in our premises?" He said looking out the window perilously.

"If you feel so unsafe, why don't you go back to the C.D.C? Actually- Yes. Go back and keep me posted on any updates, and make sure all of my luggage gets there. I'll give the conference and head back to the Center after dinner. Sound good?" Qurban sent out a text and nodded his head.  
"Great." She said goodbye to him and he left back in the same taxi they came in.

Walking into the conference she was greeted and introduced by the president of the university. The auditorium was semi-full with many medical students and other medical professionals in the audience. All lights were on her at the podium which was on a stage with crimson, velvet curtains.  
She began her presentation on her latest research on the Zika case she had been working in in South America.

Being the main and only speaker of the conference she began with a lame joke.

"They say laughter is the best medicine. And I have an update for everyone, it's not," She said in a sarcastic tone.  
The stadium turned dark and she explained every slide with enthusiasm.

She looked at her red, obnoxious, Coca-Cola watch it was 9:42 PM the conference would soon be over. She had to reach her conclusion soon.

"And before I reach my conclusion." She began.  
"I just want to state that we need to stick together, and prioritize working for a higher cause. Specially during this time-"

A blood shrieking scream from the back of the auditorium suddenly caught everyone's attention. The presenter's eyes went wide as she tried to find the source of the scream. Her eyes darted across the room and for a brief moment someone caught her attention in the audience-

"SOMEBODY GET THE LIGHTS!" A man shouted in the darkness.

Sloane was paralyzed in her podium. She didn't know where to run or what to do. The screaming continued. It was after what felt like an eternity that the lights snapped on blinding her momentarily. Mixed amongst the crowd were some infected people. Security guards were attempting to remove these people who were gnawing and biting at the other members of the audience. There were shrill shouts and there was also blood.

"Doctor Gadsden, follow me this way."

A police officer appearing before her stretched his arm to reach for her hand. When out of the blue one of those gnarling creatures came out of the blue and bit his arm. He immediately punched it in the face making it collapse.

"Just a bite Miss, come along!"

The scenario unfolding before her eyes triggered her fight of flight instincts; and she choose to flee.

Only grabbing her purse still in her heels she ran backstage. The screaming and the growls that those sick people were haunting. She could hear people running behind her. Sprinting inside of a janitor's closet she locked the door behind her. At the end of the small room she saw the janitor standing there aimlessly.

"Great Scott! You have to stay inside. There is havoc wrecking outside," she said heaving. Finally catching her breath. She noticed the janitor remained standing still not listening to her. "Hey?" she called confused in a louder more adamant tone.

The man suddenly turned around. His skin was rotten dark with dried blood. His eyes were faded to a feverish sallow color. And the skin around his mouth was ripped which revealed his sharp, black teeth.  
The sick man hissed at her and began running towards her.  
She screamed frantically and grabbed the nearest item to her. Her weapon of choice: a mop.

"Stay back!" She shouted. The man did not stop. "I said STAY BACK." She repeated in a louder voice this swatting the man in the head hard. The man stumbled with the hit, but continued advancing. With another hit and seeing nowhere to escape to. Sloane hit him one last time and spotted a nearby utilities closet. Her logic was to run and hide behind the massive closet. She pushed behind it squirming, scratching her body between the concrete wall and the back of the dusty storage closet. She hissed as a screw sticking out stabbed into her back. The thing still attempting to reach for her was suddenly crushed by the massive metal closet. The doctor covered her mouth with her hands. Paint and dust splashing all over her formal attire. The creature was squashed underneath the closet.

White, blue and yellow paint seeped from the underneath flooding the small room. The person's hand twitching from inability to move.

After taking a few moments to calm down she observed the hand was still twitching.

"That's impossible…" She said to herself as she squatted close to the body. She was currently fascinated by the twitching hand that was sticking out.  
"Being under all this weight, he should be unconscious, even dead," she couldn't wrap her head around it. Poking the hand with the back of the mop it reacted to it and had a palmar reflex, gripping it. _Fascinating._

 **Day 22:  
** \- C.D.C is overrun by the U.S. Military.  
\- World Health Organization declare the United States to be in a state of emergency.

 **Location: [University, Atlanta, GA]**

1:54 AM Sloane was sitting down on the janitor's rusty of chair looking at her phone which was on 15% battery.

She was reviewing the text from a few hours before.

 **9:09 PM: E.J. How's the conference  
9:53 PM E.J. Sloane?  
10:15 PM E.J.** **Something awful has happened. We need you. NOW.  
10:16 PM E.J. Candace  
10:16 PM E.J. NOW.**

 **10:32 PM Q.S. DO NOT COME. NO MATTER WHAT. DO NOT COME. DNT**  
 **10:32 PM Q.S. SON'T COME**

She had been sitting for several hours trying to debate what to do. The emergency line was dead. None of the scientist or the secretaries at the C.D.C were answering.

"What to do, what to do…" she said running her hand through her temples.

The body underneath the closet began groaning and twitching.  
"You. Shut up." She rolled her eyes kicking the side the storage shelf.

Sloane packed whatever useful items she could find in a backpack that used to belong to "Smithy Joel."  
Joel's wallet was inside of his black backpack and so were the car keys to his Chevy. She also put in a notebook and several pens to document whatever was to come. Also a basic health aid kit she found stashed under his desk. She felt awful stealing from Joel, but it was an emergency. She made a mental note that she would handsomely reward him if there were any qualms about his Fantasy Football notebook going missing.

She tried to kill time by responding to her text messages. Hoping maybe one of them could get through.

 **3:33 AM: Q? What happened?  
3:33 AM: Please answer! Something really f*cked up just happened.  
**FAILURE TO DELIVER****

 **3:43 AM: Can someone please answer me?**  
 ****FAILURE TO DELIVER****

Finally her trusty Coca-Cola watch showed it was 6:30 AM.

' _Great, the sun should be out.'_ She braced herself as she carried a shovel with her. Slowly she crept out of the room. As she crept through the hallway she encountered missing limbs, blood and secretions she was unsure of what they were. She had gotten rid of her Chanel suit a while ago and was presently walking in her paint stained legs and heels. A business pencil skirt and a white wrinkled blouse that had about a dime sized stain of blood in her back.

She finally reached the outside of the auditorium. She was clicking on the button of Joe's keys trying to find his Chevy, wherever it was, or whatever it looked like. It was then that she saw them. She stood in awe watching the- it was almost like a herd. The herd of sick people walking in group. It was almost as if they were in sync.

Suddenly, one of them spotted her. And they all turned to face her.  
Biting back a scream she was about to let out. She dropped the shovel and sprinted towards the parking lot clicking away trying to find Joel's damn car. They were fast, and they were getting closet.  
"Come on, come on, come on!" She was nearing the end, when finally that beep echoed the parking lot.  
She ran as far as her short heels could take her.

 _'Don't trip. Don't trip. Don't trip._ ' She was screaming inside her head. Her heart jumping at her throat.

Finally she reached the car a 1980 Chevy Station Wagon?! With WOOD?!

"OF FUCKING COURSE!" She shouted barely getting in before she was clawed. The door of the old car squeaked when she closed it. The creatures banged and licked the glass of the old car. It was almost as if she was in an a tacky 80's horror movie. Panicked and in disbelief she ignited the engine and got the hell out of there knocking out a few of those things out of the way.

"What the hell is happening…" She turned on the radio to try and calm her nerves, but there was nothing. Instead Good Ol' Joel had a CD of some classic rock hits which weren't too bad.  
ACDC's "Highway to Hell" was jamming as she speed down the empty highway, _how fitting_.  
All of her instincts shouted at her "GO TO THE C.D.C! C.D.C!" part of her said. _'No, Qurban said not to go. There is a reason why Q said not to go…'_ Q wouldn't have told her no to go unless it was definitely necessary.  
Taking a deep breath she went against all her instincts and got on I-85 on a straight road to South Carolina.

She drove for about two hours. It was now 9:04 AM and it was the fourth time she heard "American Woman" playing, and she was almost by Greenville, GA. The adrenaline had kept her running for a while, but having undergone all of those nights without sleep and the scare from earlier. It took a toll on her. Sloane had no idea what she was doing with her life.

It had just hit her that she had stolen a car. She was alone and she had no way of getting in contact with anyone. She had to get home. She had to get to someone…

Dozing off in the road, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"… Please save me…" She pleaded a prayer to her God, if there still was one, half in daze.

The sound of loud honking and tires screeching resounded in the empty highway.

A train of words that would make her grandmother twist in her grave escaped out of her mouth and she jolted on the wheel trying in a pointless attempt to avoid sure death, and the incoming crashing truck.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Walking Dead. I do not make profit out of this.  
Thoughts anyone? Reviews appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 22:**

 **Location: [I-85 N, Middle of Nowhere, GA]**

On the opposite side of the road two brothers were heading down to Atlanta which had been declared a "Safe Zone."  
ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" was playing on Merle's truck CD player. Merle Dixon and his younger brother Daryl were the type of people that if encountered in the city one would simply cross to the other side of the street just to avoid them. Merle was the leader of a dangerous Biker Gang called the "Savage Sons Motorcycle Club." He was a dangerous drug dealer and had done several stints in jail as well as in the army. The younger Dixon on the other hand, he was quiet and reserved. He didn't think much of anything, or himself and wanted no troubles with anyone else. He was as loyal to his brother as a dog would be to his owner.  
At the spread of the disease both Dixons had decided to packed up their few belongings and had been on the move since 8:00 AM.

"What are we goin' to do when we get to Atlanta?" the younger sibling asked as he leafed through a map of the roads of Georgia.

"Scam some suckers." Merle said as he disgustingly dipped in his old tobacco habit.  
"Take their food, their women." He said with a dark chagrin on his aged face.

Daryl looked up to face his brother, "That- WOAH! WATCH OUT!" The younger Dixon suddenly shouted slamming his foot on the dashboard as a reflex. The same words the woman on the other side of the road was uttered by the older Dixon as he slammed the brake of his 1973 Ford F-250.  
The Chevy on the other side of the road turned as it braked, the loud screeching of the tires burning against the pavement was deafening. Impact was unpreventable.  
Thanks to their safety belts the Dixon brothers remained unharmed. A few moments after the collision the men looked up and realized the damaged that had happened.

"What the fuck?!" Merle roared in rage jumping off his truck. His brother followed after him.  
The car that had crashed into them was completely flipped on the side. The entire side was dented and the lights, side mirror and windows were completely busted. Glass was spread out through the entire scene. Oil and other secretions were leaking out of the car, the motor gurgled and smoke clouded air. Surprisingly besides a small dent in the bumper and some paint scratches the Dixon truck almost looked the same.

"Tough ol' thing," Merle said knocking on the top of the car hood inspecting it with a grin.  
"Truck seems O.K." Daryl said upon brief inspection.  
"Question is…" Daryl and his brother turned around to see the passenger door of the Station Wagon shoot wide open. They both exchanged a look. What if it was one of those things? The older Dixon reached for his gun, just in case. Suddenly, A hand stuck out followed by another. Merle was ready to shoot to ugly bastard that came out of the truck. To their surprise, instead a dazed woman emerged.

"I'll be damned…" Daryl sad in disbelief shaking his head. Her car was the definition of _toaled_.  
There was no way she could still be alive, much less moving.

"Jesus, I'm-I'm.." She began as she swung her legs over the steaming vehicle. Her hair was tangled into a bird's nest. Her white shirt was stained with all sorts of murk and fresh blood. Small fresh cuts covered her arms and one in particular stood out. A cut two inches wide had sliced the side of her face covering half of her face, neck and down to her shoulder with fresh, crimson blood. The brothers noticed that her black shoes and her legs from the bottom of her knees were stained with white, blue and yellow paint. And behind her shoulder a black backpack was slung.  
"Ouch," she groaned in pain as she gripped the back of her neck.

"I'm so sorry. Really, I just haven't sleep in the last couple of days," She explained as she hopped down the side of the car wobbling around. Her vision was wobbly and she put one foot in front of the other despite her dizziness. The edges of her vision were blurring with dark spots. Her world spinning, instead of seeing two people standing before her. She saw a kaleidoscope color whirl before her. She began to mumble nonsense. The brothers exchanged a peculiar look.

"Again, I'm so…" Her last words began to become a ramble.  
"Just take it…" She said tossing her wallet at the larger sibling. Right before collapsing.

The nearest sibling lunched before her face made an impact with the pavement covered in glass and barely managed to catch her. He simply looked up to follow his brother's leadership.

"Well, well, well…" Merle began licking his lips.  
"Merle, we gotta leave her here. What are we supposed to do with her? Maybe she's bit."  
"That's kind of hot." Merle said observing the ragged, dirty woman that had collapsed in his brothers arms.  
Daryl shook his head and carefully put the woman down on the pavement. He could never really wrap his head around his brother's twisted mind.  
He recognized that lustful look in his eyes. He knew the type of monster that _Merle_ could be. Her odds laying out there in the middle of the road were probably safer.

"Let's see what we got here." The elder Dixon said opening the brand designer wallet that she had thrown at them. Suddenly Merle started howling.  
"Hoo! Ca-ching! Ca-ching! We just scored us two grand in cash," he said taking out the money and folding the lump into his pocket. "Let's see who sugar-tits is before we zip out of here."  
"Merle, let's go," Daryl pressed. Something about this whole situation gave him a bad feeling.

Unlike his brother, he still had a conscience and it was clawing at his inner morale.

"Hey! Darlyna!" He suddenly snapped out of his trance.  
"Meh- Didn't find anything interesting. Has a weird name. Must be a teacher or somethin'" Merle said casually tossing the wallet over his shoulder. "Let's roll." He said casually hoping back on the truck. Daryl obediently followed. He walked to the car and reached for the door read to go. 

* * *

"Awww… I didn't know Princess Darlyna had a soft spot," Merle bullied his younger brother who only narrowed his eyes.

"We couldn't just leave her passed out in the middle of the road!" He protested raising up his hand in irked matter.  
"We could'va" Merle said in an annoying drawl.

Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 'This was a bad idea…'  
It had been a couple of moments later and something had tugged at the conscience strings of the younger Dixon's mind that told him he just couldn't leave her there. Just by looking at her he didn't see any bite or scratch marks. Then again, he could always be wrong...

"Now the backseat is goin' to be stained and stank with blood," Merle added complaining.  
"I'm sure it won't be the worse thing that's been in the backseat," Daryl mumbled before taking a bite of some beef jerky.  
"Whatchu' say now lil bitch?" Merle reached over with one hand and pulled at his brother's shirt, other hand on the steering wheel. "Fuck off!" the younger one shoved him back.  
"What the hell is her name anyways? So I can wake her up and tell her to make like a tree and get outta here," Daryl hissed.  
"Who cares what her name is! Let's just get to Atlanta and get rid off her. Not a lot of folks carry that amount of money with them, Sleeping Beauty better handsomely reward us when she wakes u. Maybe you otta give her a kiss!" he said puckering his lips in the most annoying way.

They had been driving for about an hour when they suddenly heard shuffling and movement in the back. Daryl instantly turned his head ready to attack in case she had turned.

In the backseat Sloane tossed and stirred. She was still half-unconscious. The only thing she was aware of was that her entire body hurt and her neck was in an unbearable pain. Her eyes caught the sound of something rattling and the back seat smelled like dirty oil and God knows what else. The sound of low country-rock music and two voices mixed in came into her consciousness. That song… It was Creedence Clearwater Revival was it "Bad Moon Rising?"

"Is she awake?" a gruff voice said. She peeked through one of her open slits and saw a blinding light and the face of a stranger.

 _'Where the hell am I?'_ She thought to herself before slipping back into the unconscious. 

* * *

"Hey! Wake up!" a coarse voice said to her. Slowly she came back into consciousness. "Agh!" She said holding on to her neck tightly as she sat up. The backseat was dirty covered with crumbs of potato chips. Empty cans of tobacco, beer bottles, and random rags amongst some porn magazines. Her eyes went wide with panic. Just where the hell was she? Who were these people?

"Hey!" The voice louder this time. She looked to the side where the door was wide open. The bright skies blinded her momentary. Leaning outside of the truck was a man with deep scowl on his face. His eyes were the color of a cloudy day, and his hair was chopped and short. He did not look happy.

"What's your name?" He asked in a stern tone once again.

"My name.." she opened her mouth. "My name.." She repeated struggling to find the words.  
She was suddenly overcome with a feeling of churning in the insides of her stomach, what was happening?  
"M-My name is…" She repeated once again. She could see his expression becoming more and more frustrated by the second.

And in that instant she leaned forward regurgitating her empty stomach over the seat and just under his feet.

* * *

"I can't apologize enough times," she said as she sat on the grass on the edge of the road hugging her knees. He sat next to her looking beyond annoyed. The expression on his face had been one of pure fury when she barfed all over his feet. What a great first impression.

"Here." He ignored her apology and handed her a half-drank bottle of water. She took it in her hands and eyed it suspiciously.  
"What? Think you'll get hick cooties or something?" He sneered maliciously looking at her from the corner of his eyes. Judging her.

Hesitantly and very stupidly she took small sips of the stranger's water. She feared that it might have been spiked, but her thirst got the best of her. Eventually she finished the water bottle.

"Sloane," She suddenly said.  
"Huh?" He looked at her confused.

He was thinking about how it was that he and his brother had managed to become stuck with such a useless person. He had to get rid of her soon, if not she would become a burden.

"Sloane. That's my name," She said flashing him her signature tight-lip smile.  
"Daryl," he answered after a moment.

He had never heard that name either.

Without saying another word he raised the bag of jerky to her eye level. She took one and began nibbling it. She knew she needed something- anything in her digestive system.  
He didn't say anything else for the remaining time that they were together. It wasn't long before the other man returned to the truck.

"Ah, man. Just took the biggest turd of my life. Should've seen the face of the gopher that I-" He went silent for a moment when he saw that the woman was awake. He went quiet not because of shame, he was just surprised at her presence. As far as he knew she ought'a be dead with that nasty crash she had gotten herself into.

"So, Sleeping Beauty woke up, eh?" He said sipping up his pants, buckling his belt. There was something about the bigger one that intimidated her. Perhaps it was his size, or the way his steely eyes seemed to trace every inch of her body. He had extremely short hair and a face that had the structure of a real life G.I. Joe.  
He was definitely not someone you would invite over to a tea-party. As a matter-of-fact, neither of them were.  
As they returned to the truck she took a moment to briefly analyze the people she was with.

They were both basically low-income hicks form the north of Georgia. 

* * *

"So…" She said awkwardly sitting up in the back seat of the truck. Her neck was killing her. Whiplashes were no joke. She was still holding on to it tightly. She knew she needed medical attention, some painkiller or at least a neck brace or something.

"Where are you both from?" She asked with a nervous chuckle.  
"Nowhere," replied Daryl in an attempt to stop the conversation before it even began.

"And before nowhere?" She retorted in an attempt to converse or at least _know_ something, **_anything_** about the strangers she was traveling with. They didn't seem to care or want to know anything about her. However, while she thought they were ignoring her…

Every single gear in Merle's brain was ticking and turning in an attempt to figure out just who the hell this woman was and where she had come from.

First of he couldn't pinpoint her accent. Second that car she had been driving, it had definitely been stolen. And third was a real head scratcher why a woman dressed in a professional business attire would be covered in paint. He exchanged a look with his brother.

"Where are you headed?" Merle suddenly asked.  
"North," she replied mysteriously. "Family. You?" She inquired.

"Atlanta-"  
"Atlanta!" She shouted back in an alarmed tone. "You can't go Atlanta!"  
"And why is that?" He said looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Just cause you are going the opposite way?" The other man kept his eyes on her.  
"Where do you think I'm coming from? Regardless of whatever it is you've heard. Atlanta is not a "Safe Zone." _Au contraire,_ I barely managed to make it out alive, last night…"  
"Well, I guess we'll have to see that with our own eyes," Merle coughed, ignoring her pleas.  
"If you are going to Atlanta, I'll get off right here. I don't care!" She said brashly reaching for the door handle.

"Woah, woah! What the hell?!" Merle shouted. Daryl had rotated his body to look at her in the eye.  
"Listen," He snapped sternly.  
"We're almost in the city. If you have a death wish, we'll leave you at the next gas station," He huffed and turned back around. "Ya got that Sleeping Beauty?" The other hissed.  
"My name is Sloane!" She retorted in a harsh tone. "Don't call me Sleeping Beauty."  
"Fuck you. This is all your fault!" The other man turned to Daryl and cursed him. The other in response simply flicked him off with an annoyed expression.

"Funny." The woman in the back laughed dryly. "Believe it or not. I am a blessing," she stated in a snobbish tone. Both brothers in the front looked at her through the rear-view mirror confused.  
"In disguise…" She added meekly.

Merle couldn't keep it in he began, guffawing loudly, slapping his knee out of the stupidity the woman had just said. Daryl felt like face palming. From all people they had to have a crash of faith with it had to be this one…

"And why is that Sleeping Beauty?"  
"Because…" she began seeking a possible explanation. "I'm a doctor, and a good one at that," she explain still trying to keep back as much information from them as possible.

This caught Daryl's attention.

"Ol' Merle doesn't believe ya," he said trying to see if her expression twisted to any deceit. "I have a whiplash right now. A whiplash is due to a hyperextension and hyperflexion of cervical tissues or tendons. It could also be considered a sprain. I could really use some pain killers."

Again, that awkward silence.

"Painkillers eh?" Merle said.

It seemed like Daryl wasn't one for many words. Merle shuffled around some of the cabinets of his car. Randomly he tossed her a zip lock back filled with- _drugs?_

 _'Woah'_ she said eyeing the stash with wide eyes. Merle might have as well ran his own private pharmaceutical.  
Daryl eyed his brother carefully he wondered just what the hell he was thinking showing this stranger his illegal drug stash.

 _'If he's sharing his stash with me… he must be beginning to trust me… This is a peace offering…'_ she thought.

Reading the labels she looked through them and dry swallowed one she identified. She noticed that Daryl only observed her. The entire ride he did not remove his eyes from her face in the rearview mirror. This made her feel uneasy and vulnerable.

She couldn't imagine just what was going through his mind. She looked at the mirror and saw that her appearance was completely wild and rogue. Well, at least he wouldn't have any funny ideas.  
Soon they came up to a traffic jam in the middle of the road. It was still early in the morning. Cars were packed in a line that was unmovable. In front of them was an old 1973 D-27C Winnebago Chieftain with the hood raised up.  
Several families were crowded outside of the Winnebago in an attempt to fix the fire erupting from the engine of the large car.

"Alright, now what the hell is the holdback," Merle said jumping off the truck.  
 _  
_Sloane sat tight feeling absolutely drained. "You stayin' in?"  
She was cut off guard by the sound of Daryl's voice. "Yeah," she nodded weakly. Her stiff neck felt a lot better she was leaning it against the back of the car in an attempt to ease her pain. To her side was a massive leather jacket that read "Savage Sons Motorcycle Club" in the back. She used it as a blanket.

It felt like they had been off the truck for hours, that was until Merle returned.

"Nice jacket." He commented. Sloane immediately jolted awake.  
"W-What's happening?" She stuttered looking at the bright skies above.  
"We are headed to Atlanta, so if you want to get off nows your chance," he said shrugging. "WHAT? NO!"  
Sloane rushed outside of the truck before the crowd of families disappeared.  
"Wait! Wait!" She shouted frantically catching the attention of all the people around the Winnebago. Mothers, fathers, men, women and children.

"I know that all of you think Atlanta is a "Safe Zone", but it isn't. If you set foot in the city you are as good as dead," she began as she waved her arms frantically in an attempt to get everyone's attention.  
All eyes were on her. A tall blonde woman sticking her head out of the Winnebago leered at her.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" She said mistrusting with her icy blue eyes. She had a stern expression on her face and her arms crossed over her chest in disapproval.

"I know I am only a stranger," She began.

She turned to see Daryl's eyes on her like always. Merle had returned from his truck and was watching with a hint of amusement on his face.

"My name is Dr. Sloane Gadsden, I'm a doctor." She said firmly standing her ground, her head as tall as she could hold it with the unbearable pain from the whiplash.

"The only proof I have about the current state of the city of Atlanta is my story, and I hope you will listen-" several people began to uncomfortably shift and leave the area. Others remained.

"I came from California to Georgia a couple of weeks ago. I managed to get here before all trade, tourism and transportation to the Golden State was cut. And Despite what the news is saying California is _not_ a "Safe Zone." I can confirm that it is a " _Dead Zone_." Phone lines are down. And I have come to the devastating conclusion that everyone and everything I knew in Palo Alto is gone forever." She took a moment to look up with watery eyes. The crowed was moved by her emotions.

 _'Pathos is the most persuasive method. Pity moves people. And not fear, but the "possible" fear can often times move mountains…'_ Unknowingly to them they were dealing with a master manipulator.

She regained her breath and composed her act.  
"And I'm afraid that Atlanta will follow the same fate," she swallowed hard, as if pretending there was a lump in her throat.

The remaining listeners stared with eyes wide. It still didn't stop a few more from departing.

"I know that it sounds farfetched, but I lived it and I barely managed to escape the city by the skin of my teeth." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Daryl left the inner circle and retreated.

Unknowing to her and the rest of the crowd. Merle was in awe. The woman was a schemer. He _loved_ that, she was just someone else those buttons would be fun to play with. He glanced around and noticed he was the only one that could see through her pitiful display in order to earn the trust of the others. For a brief moment he pondered if anything she had said was true, and if she was actually who she claimed to be. The corner of his lip twitched upwards and he shook his head following after his brother. She noticed his absence. They were probably leaving, heading towards the city.

Regardless, she continued after a brief pause.

"I was at the university, and at night the entire institution was overrun by herds of those- of those- _things._ And it happened like this," She snapped her fingers, her face twisted in a frown displaying pain.  
 _"_ Those things are infecting and killing people. The only reason I'm alive is because _I got lucky._ I escaped from Atlanta and made way north, where my family is at. _But that luck_ , it won't be with me- _it won't be with us forever."_ She corrected herself.

"I was in an accident and had thus the navigation was no longer in my control and because of that I am here. I don't know why I'm here, perhaps it was fate that lead me here to warn you all. I don't know. But one thing I know is that- all of you have the free will to follow whatever route you desire. But speaking for myself, alone or together, I am not going to Atlanta." She caught her breath before removing the dirty leather jacket she had been wearing. Revealing her even more ragged appearance and her blood stained shirt.

Several women in the crowd brought their hands to their lips in shock.

"Like I said. Do whatever you want. Just, please… do not take this decision lightly. Stay here. We will make a camp. If you want to go to Atlanta so much, the only thing I can _promise_ you is that it will still be there tomorrow." She dropped her arms to the side with a finish. She felt uncomfortable under all the eyes that were on her. Lowering her head she pursued her lips and nodded before walking away back into the truck without making further eye contact.

 _Oh, she had them. She knew she had them._

She walked towards the truck and noticed both Daryl and Merle standing in front of it discussing something. Pretending to be unwary of her surroundings she buried her head in her hands and leaned against the truck's back door.

"Hey," she suddenly heard. "That was a hell of a speech. Abe Lincoln couldn't have said it better," a man tapped her shoulder. Confused she turned around to see an elder man wearing a fishing hat who had a gray beard and dark eyes.

"I'm Dale Horvath," He introduced himself. He moved to the side to introduce two blonde women behind him. One was the blonde that was leering the other appeared to be younger and much more innocent.  
"These are Andrea and Amy Harrison."

"What she's saying is true," an Asian young man was saying to a nearby family. "I used to live in Atlanta. Barely escaped, made it to Macon. Macon is overrun too we are on our way south." He explained.  
The man before him nodded. The blue eyed woman behind him held her child close.

Several others decided to approach the doctor to show support of her plan.

"So what do you propose?"

A tall man with broad shoulders said standing in front of her. He wore a police cap and a matching blue shirt. She really hadn't thought out her plan this far-

"Well," she began pondering ready to buy time. She was quiet for a long time and the man began to narrow his eyes looking at her with mistrust.

"There's a quarry nearby. 'Bout thirty miles from here or so. Should be high enough to provide distance from those geeks. The water in the quarry will be useful and it will also bring in wild game for us to eat. We should be safe there for the night."

Sloane turned surprised to see Daryl at her side holding the map he had been leafing in the road here. He said nothing to her, but their eyes met.

"And you are?" The same man that had inquired the question asked his gaze judging.  
"Didn't yer mom ever teach ya that if ya ask for someone's name ya introduce yourself first?" Merle quipped in stepping on his brother's side.  
"Shane Walsh, King County's Police Sherriff Deputy," he said almost in a menacing way as if in a way to mark his territory as Alpha or superior.

 _'You let him be right..'_ Sloane thought to herself, ' _but you be smart…'_  
it was one of the few saying that her mother had taught her that had actually stuck.

"Name's Dixon, Merle Dixon. And this is ma brother Daryl."

Sloane mused she had no idea that they were related.  
All the families present looked at the two hicks with mistrust. Their appearance based on pre-judgment was discouraging people.

"Merle and Daryl are good people." Sloane stated as carefully as she could, nodding her head as she did.

She could not believe it. Somehow, with the help of the Dixon brothers, she had managed to convince a group of almost two dozens of people to blindly follow her lead into the Georgia wilderness.  
Some approached her with opinions and questions that she did not know about the quarry. The people began exchanging information and loading back into their vehicles.

"Ride with us." Lori, Shane's wife, insisted holding her hands together.

Merle and Daryl watched in amusement from their truck. Both were debating whether she'd leave them for the more civilized beings of stick with the "mistrusted hicks."

"Five bucks says she does it," the elder said licking his lips in intrigue. _Almost_ wanting her to leave with the woman and her family.  
"Five says she doesn't," the younger retorted casually enjoying a cigarette.  
"So, what's the plan then?" Daryl asked scratching his head. He kept his eyes on the two women speaking on the side of the road. A cigarette loosely hanging from his lips.

"The same plan we've always had," the brother began. "We go with these suckers, take them for what they are and make away with it." His eyes landed on _the_ woman. "And _her…_ " He paused briefly.  
"She's dangerous, _very_ dangerous. It's almost a turn-on," he laughed. Daryl glared at his brother from the corner of his eyes with narrowed eyes. He wasn't surprised. Merle would fuck anything that moved _or didn't_ if given the chance.  
"We oughta keep her close" Merle finished talking as they noticed that she began to make way to the truck and returned to their silence.  
"She's a _loaded gun,"_ the younger Dixon exhaled the smoke and tossed the cigarette butt out the window


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 22**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]**

The group of survivors began setting up camp under the hot Georgia sun at some point after noon. Sloane felt that everyone just saw her as "The Girl With the Plan."

Which wasn't good, because if _anything_ went wrong (which it probably wouldn't take long). She would probably be held liable. She had to find a replacement. Someone stupid that she could manipulate like a puppet.  
A local idiot eager for that opportunity. Currently talking to her were Jim, Jacqui and a man named Theodore Douglas who went by T-Dog. She had absolutely no answers to any of their questions nor had she the interest to even attempt to do so. Standing next to her was Shane, who stood in the manly pose of hands on his hips and legs spread apart to stand taller and mightier than he actually was.

"I don't know, Shane what do you think?" She asked turning to him.  
He opened his mouth and began babbling barking out orders to everyone. He was a perfect fit for the job. Satisfied she retired to sit under the shade of a tree and remove her dirty heels.

She hissed as she removed the shoes and saw her swollen blistered feet.  
"Shit…" she cursed lowly as she began rubbing them out. Thankfully she had a few band-aids from that first-aid kit she stole. It was then that Lori, the woman whom Sloane had been talking to earlier, approached her with a pair of tennis shoes in her hands.

"Ouch." She said looking at her feet.  
"Bad decision to wear heels," she said shaking her head.  
"I noticed and I realized I had a pair of extra shoes. They fit me a little big, but maybe they'll be of use to you." She said kindly. Placing the shoes in her hands.

"Thank you so much!" Sloane said in a sing song voice taking the tennis shoes and hugging them to her chest.  
Of course, like everything it was an exchange of services.  
"By the way, I was wondering if you could take a look at my son Carl. I want to make sure that he's not coming down with anything with the stress of the move…"

Sloane put on the tennis shoes which fit her a little tight.  
"Sure," she responded with her infamous smile.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the child. It was just something that had to be done.

The day passed by slowly and everyone seemed to be bored just killing time. All the children in camp were already running around playing tag enjoying each other. Adults were preparing with their families to eat some of the rations that they had already packed. Sloane's guess was that most of the people were planning on sleeping inside their cars for the night. Some other people had approached her to introduce themselves and ask them to check their children for scratches or _anything_ wrong with them.  
She noticed that Daryl and Merle had been gone for most of the day. So far she kept busy by interacting with these children. It was then that the Dixons returned with a string filled with squirrel carcasses.  
Everyone looked at them in horror as they walked in. Merle with a gun hung on his back, Daryl holding a cross bow.

"Shane, there's something we have to do about them! I don't feel safe having Carl near them or their guns." Lori complained to Shane, (whom with a short time Sloane had now learned that they were not married.)  
Sloane rolled her eyes and walked away from the people to approach the brothers that had just returned from a hunt.

"Hey, I didn't know you two knew how to hunt," she said with her hands on her back joining them by their truck.  
"Nice shoes," Daryl commented with what seemed like wither a huff or a hint of humor as he walked away from her.  
"Ya, it's what we do." Merle said following his brother.

Sloane just realized how ridiculous she looked. Right now, the only thing she wanted to do was shower.  
The dry paint on her legs and feet was starting to itch. She wished she was wearing something looser than a skirt and a shirt with more space other than her white button down which was stained with blood form today and yesterday.

"Got some for ya," Merle called over his shoulder.

It was a while later that she was sitting skinning squirrels with a knife sitting between the Dixons. She saw the shocked eyes of the people in the camp as they watched her sit between the two rugged men. The sun was about setting giving the entire ambiance an orange glow. The heat greatly decreasing as the evening cool breeze set in.

"Done," She said as she tossed the perfectly skinned squirrel carcass into a rag that was on the floor.  
"Damn," said Merle picking up the squirrel's skin.  
"We could make a perfect stuffed animal out of this." He said playing with the carcass as if it were a puppet.  
"It doesn't _gross you out?"_ He said in a whiny voice pretending the squirrel was talking.  
"Merle, please," she scoffed.  
"I'm a professional," she added flipping her hair.

Daryl glanced at her briefly.

"You'll actually eat a squirrel?"

All the women that the Dixons had met had two things to say about eating squirrels:  
1) Ew gross!  
2) No, it's so cute how can you eat it?

They were completely taken back by her response.

She chuckled and shook her head, "Well, yeah-it's food?" she answered cocking an eyebrow as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Besides, I've had worse." She added musing as she recalled that time where her diet consisted on fire ants and guinea pigs back in the amazonian jungles of Brasil.  
The younger Dixon was about to open his mouth when the deafening sounded of jets breaking though the air echoed the Quarry Camp.

"What in the-…" instead came out of his mouth.  
It sounded like bombs were being dropped. That's because _they were_.  
Everyone jumped to their feet. They rushed to the top of the quarry were the Atlanta skyline could still be marveled at. The impact of the bombs being dropped in the metropolis was dreadfully breathtaking.  
The Quarry Survivors' expressions reflected the state of the city: _destroyed.  
_  
Some women brought their mouths to their faces as they swallowed back their tears. The men looked in disbelief. Children wept crying out about their fears an insecurities. The bombs continued dropping, bright hues of orange, red and yellow danced into the darkened atmosphere. The sound of the drops echoed their ear drums like a hammering.  
Sloane removed herself from the situation. She took a minute to take a breath and observed the humans that were with her. She felt guilt wash over her as she remembered the promise that she had made to everyone earlier _"Atlanta will still be there tomorrow."  
_ She saw the faces of the crying men and women, the pain, fear and uncertainty that reflected in their eyes. She knew it was the beginning of the end…

 **Day 23:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]  
**  
Night came soon and the survivors had all retreated to sleep in their vehicles. Disbelief still shook the camp as none of them could accept the fact that the city of Atlanta had been bombed. It was suddenly the middle of the night. The Coca Cola watch said it was 2:16 AM. Sloane currently lay in the bed of the Dixon truck. It was so ironic considering how exhausted she had been after the last two days. She was uncomfortably twisted in an awkward manner laying next to the motorcycle and other camping gear tools. She was using the leather jacket she had found earlier as a blanket and her backpack as a hard pillow. Then again it was better than sleeping on the floor or the backseat of the car which was stained with God knows what. Her stomach churned at the thought of what was happening. But what bothered her wasn't the fact that most of Atlanta had been bombed.  
It was the fact that she was moronic enough not to see it coming.

"I should have known…" She said to herself angrily, her eyes lost in a daze as she looked at the sky above.

"Should have known what?" A sudden husky voice made her jump, hitting her head with the motorcycle wheel. "Ow…" she said rubbing her head. There was a chuckle coming from the front of the truck.

She heard the footsteps of someone approaching and suddenly saw Daryl leaning over the back of the truck bed. He rested his elbows on the top and leaned forward resting above his crossed arms. She sat up cocking her head to a side rubbing her aching neck. It would be at least a week until her neck felt at ease.

"Couldn't sleep?" She changed the topic with ease.

 _'How is it that I did not see it coming? This was probably why everything in California had ceased to exist, starting with communication. The entire west coast is probably obsolete by now. Fuck.'_

"Nah, I'm staying up keeping watch in case one of those creepers shows up," he stated breaking eye contact.  
 _"Why?"_ she asked tiredly. "It's just best if someone is up keeping watch."  
"So you plan on not sleeping?"  
"Ya," he stated in the same tired tone before removing his arms from the back of the truck. Daryl was a man of few words. Sloane had realized that by now. In the time that she had known him they had only exchanged a few couple of sentences. Meanwhile, his brother would just not shut the hell up.

"I'll keep guard with you then," she said popping the door of the pick up truck. She sat on the edge with her feet dangling below. It made her feel nostalgic. It had been years since she had swung out like this in the back of a pick up truck back in her high school days growing up in South Carolina.  
"You don't even know how to 'fend for yourself and you expect to stay up with me? You will only be a distraction," he huffed walking away with a crossbow swung on his back.

"Hey!" She stood up and chased after him.  
"Don't patronize me!" she said irked.  
"Daryl!" She said a bit louder trying to catch his attention.

"I may not know how to use a gun properly, or a crossbow or be a master swordsman or whatever." She said talking with her hands.  
"Medical knowledge might be my only defense. But it's a strong defense. I know where a fatal stabbing will do and what to do if one is fatally stabbed. The carotid artery, aorta, femoral, brachial, you name it. Did you know the first cause of trauma deaths is exsanguination?"

Daryl let out a sound from his nostrils. Sloane couldn't figure out if it was in humor or annoyance. Maybe both.

"You can't kill those things by cutting them. It's gotta be the head." He paused eyeing her "For a _doctor_ you really _don't know anything_ ," he shook his head irked and walked away.  
"Bite me!" She shouted after him as he was going who-knows-where.  
"Ughh!" She growled out feeling humiliated her ears burning in rage.

 _'Just who the hell did he think he was?'_ After being esteemed and praised as one of the brightest minds in the world of science and medicine, let's just say Sloane had gotten unused to being looked down to a _very_ long time ago.  
She had a freagin' ASA Award for Pete's sake!

When the sun rose, Daryl was attempting to piece together the group organization that Shane was arranging. He noticed that the burning eyes of the doctor remained on him. He didn't bother in returning back the glare, not interested in her childish antics.

 _'How dare he..'_ the words still echoed through Sloane's head. _'Who the fuck does he think he is?'_  
Yes, maybe she was over exaggerating but her swollen ego was not something that could be easily tamed. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when Shane addressed her.

"Um, what?" She blinked twice snapping out of her thoughts.  
"I think we all owe you an apology, as well as our lives," Dale began.  
"If it weren't for you, well. We know we wouldn't be here." He said as the space filled with tension. "So, thank you." He finished.  
"It's not much, but here are some clean clothes that you can have. They are from me, Amy and Andrea." He said with a kind smile putting the clothes in her hands.  
Sad, meek "Thank yous" were echoed throughout the circle. She took the clothes and Merle who was standing next to her smirked when he saw her arch her back. She was like a transformer, shifting into a tall authority figure in which she could command and manipulate the camp.

"I should say that you are welcome, but I can't." she began.  
"I have to thank you all for the faith you put in me when you decided to trust me, and for the clothes, shoes and place to sleep," she added with a small laugh.  
"But instead of thanking each other I think we should focus on: what our next move will be, how we are going to get there, and what we are going to do in the meantime." She said raising a finger for every point she made.  
"For now I would recommend setting up a camp here in the quarry and distributing tasks to everyone: gathering food, washing the clothes, running for supplies, anything that is essential to the camp. Even having one or two people stay up at night keep watch of those… things. I propose for this to be temporal until we are able to gather more information on where or how to proceed. Thoughts?"She said raising an eyebrow. The entire camp looked at her in awe.

"Who the hell is this girl?" inaudible to her, T-Dog whispered to Glenn in the back of the crowd.  
She caught that Merle was attempting to hide a snicker and she couldn't put her finger on why it was he was laughing.

' _Idiots. We'll make them all for what they are,"_ he thought to himself. All he and his brother had to do was wait until they had their guard down, take all of their food, weapons, vehicles and that damn smarty-ass doctor and get as far away from them as they could. He had now realized that the money he had stolen from Sleeping Beauty's wallet was probably as good as useless, _'Dammit.'_

Sloane noted the wary eyes and prominent scowls in the eyes of Carol's husband, Jim and other men of the group.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ed Pelletier barked.  
"And why should we listen to you?" Jim added.

She blinked twice looking at them bored.

"I'm simply a doctor," she stated dully.  
"We don't know if you are." The man retorted with mistrusting eyes.  
"Same as we don't know if you really are a car salesman."  
"Difference between you and me, _Meredith Grey,_ is that _I_ have actual proof." He hissed tossing a business card at her face. Her hand reached for her face and everyone was watching her carefully, she casually tugged a lose strand of hair behind her ear and kept her bored gaze glued to Ed.

"Honestly Ed, believe me or not I really don't care." She began. "Arguing with you truly is a waste of my time. And I'm not saying you _have_ to listen to me. Feel free to do whatever you want. I am not liable for your life just as I would never in any form or matter of existence be idiotic enough to put my the trust of my life in your hands. So, do whatever you want. Just keep in mind that I was already right once," She stopped and her eyes snaked everyone in the group before she stalked away.

Sloane's mind was rapidly ticking as she walked towards the nearby quarry pond away from everyone. She looked at the clear water a couple of feet away from her.

 _'Fuck it…'_ She thought as she hopped in with her clothes on. The water was cold, but she needed to cleanse herself and to remove all the paint, blood and grime that she had been collecting.  
As she rubbed and washed she carefully thought out a plan. She was well aware that she had zero actual survival skills. She had no belongings and no means of transportation. She knew the only way of surviving was to ally with a powerful group. This group seemed to have a chance, well not like she had any choice. But the more people she surrounded herself with the odds of her being a victim of those _things.  
_ She suddenly remembered how her father once told her, "In order to survive a bear attack you don't have to be faster than the bear. You have to be faster than the person _behind you,_ " he had said joking.

She had to analyze the members of the group individually. However the one's that stood out of her the most so far as having the greatest odds at surviving were: Shane, he was a police officer, he knew how to wield a weapon and was in fit physical condition to survive and provide. As well as the Dixon brothers, they were naturals.

"Hey!" She turned around to see Shane standing nearby with Glenn, T-Dog and Jim as they approached her.  
"Yeah?" She said casually walking over to them soaked wet still wearing her dirty clothes.  
"I'm making a supply run to the city today. Do you need anything?" Glenn asked stepping forward.

Sloane debated whether she should go or not. The pain in her neck and just her lack of abilities persuaded her otherwise. She approached the group and gave them very specific instructions.

"Bring me a white lab coat, and all the medical supplies that you can find," she explained carefully.  
"Lab coat?" They all exchanged a confused look.  
"Yes, and whatever else your heart desires. Those are the only two things of high priority that I need."

Confused they left.

Seeing that she was finally alone she took the opportunity to change into the clothes that Dale had given her. She changed into a sports bra, a white tank top and a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Why do you need a lab coat?" A sudden voice asked from the depths of the woods.  
"Have you been watching me?" She asked coking her head to the side, both eyes wide.

"Yes," Merle answered without any trace of shame.  
"What do you want?" She asked annoyed. Sloane was never one to mind nudity, she saw it as something natural and wasn't ashamed of her body and the imperfections it carried.

"Let me tell ya. You have a nice-"  
"What do you want?" She snapped coldly rolling her eyes stepping out of the water. She really didn't feel like being objectified at the moment. She proceeded to put in the shoes that Lori had given her one foot at a time and hop to shore.

"I have a proposal for you," he said before spitting out some of the tobacco he had been chewing.

She looked at him apprehensible.

"Lookie, the original plan that me and my brother had was to get to town rob some suckers of everything they have. This is the apocalypse for sakes," he shrugged casually.  
"It probably won't be long before we take what we can and leave, and when that happens. We want you to come with us," he explained clearly.

She was quiet for a moment before a grin broke out in her face and she began laughing. She was laughing so hard she clenched her stomach in pain.

"Ouch! Ouch!" She said holding her neck groaning as she stood up straight.  
Merle even chuckled himself.  
"What? Are you going to tell me that it goes against your compass of moral values or something?" He said with a grin. "Death waits for no man and let me tell ya something sugar, out there. It is a no man's land." He said pointing out at the wilderness shaking his head slowly with both of his eyes showing no trace that he was joking.

Their eyes met, it became a mind game.  
 _'Why would he want me to follow them to the end of the world? Why would he trust me, a stranger, with his malevolent plan? Did Daryl have any word on this?'_ her brain computed.

"I'm assuming that you and your brother are from a low-income background. Both of you spend a lot of time in the wilderness, either: hunting, surviving or just _monkeying_ around. You have never needed the assistance of a medically trained professional and you won't need it now. So please tell me, why?" She asked with a hand on her hip.

The elder Dixon took in a deep breath and shook his head, "Because you have nice tits," he offered sincerely stretching his hand over to her.

"Goodbye Dixon," she said turning around.  
"Wait-wait. Hear me out," he said catching up to her.  
"O.K. Honestly, I can see the way you talk to people. The way you manipulate them. Maybe all of those other idiots haven't noticed, but I have. It's a rare skill. A powerful skill. It might come in handy to us. Besides, you're funny," he persuaded.

Merle figured he had her. She wouldn't pass out on this opportunity. After all she was smart.  
She was smart enough to know that the Dixons were the most well suited people to survive in this, or in any type of environment. She would not pass it up.

"No," she stated dully before continuing in her way.  
"Aw! Come on!" he cried out. "Is it because of the stealing thing?"  
 _"'It is not the strongest or the smartest that survive, but those who can adapt best.'_ I'll tell you who doesn't survive this event: Dale because he's too old. Carl, Sophia and the other children because they are too innocent. Lori, Carol and the other women, I can assure you none of them have _any_ weapon or survival training. Now, let me tell you who is going to make it. You and your brother, T-Dog, Glenn maybe, Shane and if I'm smart and ally with "Team Dixon," I'll survive," she explained catching her breath.  
"Then? Why won't you say yes?" he said growing exasperated. She lost it.  
"BECAUSE!" She said lowly marching up to him.  
"Your brother thinks I'm stupid," she exhaled in rage. The words burned as they slipped through her mouth and she remembered his words last night.

 _"For a doctor you really don't know anything."_  
O.K. Maybe he hadn't called her "stupid."  
Yes. It was stupid. Yes, it was definitely petty. Yes. She was taking things way to personal. Childish? Of course.  
The last time she had been called stupid had been by the local kids of her elementary school.  
They stopped after she put bombs in their backpacks and made one go deaf in one ear.

"So?" Merle said taken back. ' _Maybe his brother was right.'_  
"I do not like being disrespected Merle." She said unsympathetically. He raised his eyebrows he had just been trying to get a good look at her naked body.  
"I do not like people disrespecting _my intellect,"_ she corrected with a huff, glancing at him with her crazy eyes.

Merle couldn't believe it.

"Daryl!" Merle shouted as he approached his brother. Without hesitation he slapped him in the back of the head.  
"What the hell?!" he said reaching for his head looking at his brother with a scowl.  
"What do you think you are doing?" Merle hissed both of his brows pulled down in anger. Daryl looked confused. "We had agreed that we'd lure the doctor to our side. Today, I'm trying to convince her to come with us and what does she say? That you called her stupid."

Daryl looked at his brother with his eyes narrowed. She was making a huge thing out of the pettiest comment. What was her problem?!  
"So? Since when do you care?" he said gruffly as he cleaned his crossbow.  
"I care since we _need_ her to come with us when we leave. And this is your responsibility since it was _your_ idea to pick her up in the highway."

Daryl knew that it was useless to argue with Merle. He simply grumbled and shook his head. They had never needed anyone else before. He didn't understand why they needed her now.

"So now- make up with her. I don't give a damn if you have to lick her ass or kiss her feet."  
 _'Just why the hell is Merle so obsessed with that woman?'_

Sometime later the group sent out to the city to scavenge for food and other supplies. Thankfully, they did not have to venture so far into the city. Plenty of cars had been stranded and abandoned in the road. With the help of T-Dog, Jim and the Dixon brothers the group that had been sent to scavenge all began opening the trunks of cars. The group didn't encounter many walkers, just corpses.

Merle's words churned in Daryl's mind. _'Why? Why the interest in her? Was she even being truthful?'_ Daryl was currently shuffling through some boxes that were in the back of a suburban. He was tossing through some kitchen utensils that were wrapped in old newspaper articles. _'Absolutely useless,' he thought to himself.  
_ It was then that something suddenly caught his eye.  
The bold title of a newspaper headline.

" **World-Renowned Scientist to Speak at** -" the other part of the article had been cut off. Below the article was a photograph of the doctor. Below the caption read.

"Dr. Sloane Gadsden pictured receiving the **American Science Award** for the year-" Again another cut.  
Daryl almost didn't recognize the person in the picture. Her hair was neat and a bright smile graced her colored lips. She wore a pair of reading glasses as she displayed her award proudly.  
"So that's how you spell her name…" He mused to himself. He took the wrinkled newspaper and shoved it deep in his pocket.

It was night by the time the group returned to the camp. They came bearing clothes, camping supplies, few weapons and plenty of food.  
Sloane had spent the day sitting near the quarry pond. She had been recording whatever information she remembered about this flu so that she could continue working on a cure as soon as she reached a lab. As soon as she heard that the group had returned she went upstairs by the heart of the camp, the fire camp by Dale's RV. She exchanged a look with Merle and he went the opposite way. Instead she was surprised when Daryl approached her.  
"Got ya a tent and a sleeping bag." He said handing her a massive bag.  
"There's some other stuff I thought might be useful," he added before running hand to his face to wipe his nose. "Did you get the books I asked?" She said in a cold tone looking at him with a scowl and half-lidded eyes.  
"Books?" He asked confused.  
"Yes. Did Merle not tell you? I asked him for some books about camping, self-defense, and hunting."

Daryl could've kept his mouth shut. But he just had to babble. The permanent scowl on his face deepened.

"Reading books can't teach you how to survive out there!" He said pointing at the wilderness.  
"And if you think so, you are _dumber_ than you look."  
"Yes it can." She protested back gripping the massive bag he gave her with her fingernails. She felt it once again, that anger bubbling inside of her. She knew she shouldn't let it bother her, but for some reason it drove her insane. Who was Daryl to judge if she was bright or wasn't?

No one. Exactly.

Her mother always used to tell her, "Lions don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep."  
It just seemed like this wasn't the case…

"I didn't need it," he said cockily, eyes focused on hers.  
"Well, I guess that just makes you a special unicorn. Doesn't it?" She spat back and tossed the sleeping bag and tent he got her. He barely caught it.

"And here! If it's from you, I don't want it!"  
"Fine!" Daryl dropped the bag to his feet. He had had it.  
"Fine!" She shouted back storming away.

The eyes of several wary campers pretended to look away and avoided the scene.

Merle observed the scene from a far and felt like face palming.  
 _'Those two… they were just like children…'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 24:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]**

Daryl was receiving a scolding from his older brother.  
"I don't understand why you want her to come with us!" he shouted at his older sibling.  
"Because we _need_ her," He stressed out.  
"We've always been on our own and we've done just fine!" He argued.  
"Right now- we need her to manipulate all of these idiots and then we can get rid of her."  
"Oh yeah? And what if she manipulates us and then gets rid of us?" he challenged.

Merle took a step back and shook his head arms crossed over his chest. "Go. Do what I told you to do," Merle repeated through gritted teeth. Daryl simply flicked him off and furiously stormed out of the tent.

 **Day 30:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]  
**  
About a week had passed since the first supply run they had made to the road. Sloane and Daryl were still not speaking. After more than a week of being settled in the camp it seemed that everyone had fallen into a routine.

The men in camp became responsible for supplying food, keeping the camp "safe" through day and night watches.

The women in camp had taken up the tasks of cleaning everyone's clothes, cooking and caring for the children.  
It is fascinating what a few weeks in the apocalypse can do to society. It was almost as if the entire world reverted to a more primitive era.

Sloane hated thinking about _him,_ but she knew that Ted would've found all of this absolutely fascinating.

The more specific tasks that had been assigned was Glenn as main supply runner, Shane as the "group leader", The Dixon brothers as the main suppliers of the camp, Ed as the loafer who would whine and criticized everyone, and Sloane, well- she had been assigned with the task of being the official "nurse" of the group.

All of years in medical school to end up like this? Life could be so cruel sometimes.

She didn't have work often so in her spare time she would read and write. So far she had obtained a bagful of medicines and medical items (none which would aid her in continuing with her medical research.) She was the only woman that would often stay up at night to keep watch with the other men.  
Some of the people in the camp she had grown close to were T-Dog, Glenn and surprisingly Merle.

She still had not received the lab coat she had been longing for.

"I just, I don't understand why you need a lab coat," Glenn confessed confused as he walked with her back to camp.  
"Oh… Don't worry about it," she said patting the innocent man in the back. Glenn just looked at her confused.

Sloane had been psychoanalyzing the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in camp. She was attempting to figure out who she would bring with her and who she would leave when she made them for what they are and left the camp.  
As much as she hated to admit it Daryl would have to come, he worked best with the others unlike his brother who would throw snide, racist comments at almost everyone in camp, Glenn would be good for scavenging too.  
She couldn't take the Pelletier family with her, Ed was useless and aggressive and she feared that he would begin to beat someone other than his wife and daughter. Dale was the nosiest bastard in camp, and he was also useless as to her standards. Andrea and Amy knew how to fish and they were still young so perhaps with some training they might stand a chance in the other world, she would consider them. T-Dog had plenty of street skills that would come in handy, so did Glenn. Morales made his family his priority so he was out. Jaqui and Lori were absolutely useless…  
Jim had to be in, he was a mechanic, his skills would come in handier sooner or later.

The day would come soon, and she had to be ready…

 **Day 59:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]  
**  
Sloane had been keeping count of how many days had happened since the break out. So far she had calculated 59 days. It would soon be 60.  
She had been out in the wilderness surviving: 2 months, 8 weeks.  
Sixty days. She wondered how many more she would live to count.

That night she sat up on top of Dale's RV. She had her feet crossed before her and she focused her bored eyes on the quarry which stretched beneath her eyes. Next to her sitting on a chair was Daryl who was sharpening some of his knives casually. The air was filled with tension. Sloane could already feel her stomach bubbling with annoyance. She absolutely could not stand him.

The feeling was mutual.

They had gone almost more than a month without speaking to each other.  
Why did she have to be stuck with _him? Ugh..  
_ She would've preferred it to be Shane or evenDale who could never just shut up. In all of this time as long as she didn't speak to her he didn't bother speaking to her either. Perhaps it was best this way. Usually she would listen to the static radio in hopes that one day another voice would come through. Surprisingly it had been Shane's idea in case any other police officers were out there attempting to reach someone. To this day there hadn't been a single transmission to come through.  
So Sloane had begun killing time by attempting to figure out which constellation was which. Since she miserably failed she decided to start naming her own.

 _'The brightest one will be called Lucy…'_ she decided melancholically.

When a sudden noise made her snap out of her trance

"What?" She said fully, turning her eyes to Daryl who was surprisingly speaking to her. He kept his eyes averted.

"Saw a picture of you," he repeated in a gruff voice.  
She looked at him completely pixelated. _'Picture?'_

He pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper from his back pocket.

It was a headline of the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was the announcement of her conference at the university. Below she was photographed with her ASA Award.

"Oh," was all she said unsure of what type of answer he was expecting.

He was quiet for a moment too.

"Why did you lie?" He suddenly accused.  
"Lie?" She repeated shocked.  
"You never said you were some kind of 'World-Famous-Einstein'"  
"I told you guys I was a good doctor,"  
"Why were you in Atlanta on the first place? You're not from around 'ere" he said eyeing her suspiciously.  
"Why so many questions?" She retorted, tense.  
"What are you hiding Sloane Gadsden?"  
"Nothing! Jesus H. Christ, since when do you care? You haven't said a _single_ word to be in more than a month and now here you are demanding that I give you explanations that I don't owe _you?"_

Daryl raised his voice continuing to bicker with her.  
His voice raised to shouts so did hers.

"You know what- you are _impossible_ ," she said angrily jumping to her feet and hoping down from the roof of Dale's RV.

"Where ya goin'?!" He hollered waking up some people in camp  
"Just leave me alone!" She shouted back sounding like an immature teenager.

"What in the world is going on here?" Dale said sticking his head out of the RV. He had just placed his glasses on.  
 _'Nosy bastard…'_ Daryl thought to himself. He grumbled and simply returned to his post ignoring the other man. 

**Day 60:**

 **Location: Quarry Camp**

The following morning the survivor group was gathered around the fire pit having breakfast.  
It seemed like a normal morning for the survivors and everyone would soon resume their daily tasks.

It wasn't until Dale arrived that everyone noticed that something was odd…

"Hey, where's Sloane?" the nosey old bastard said.

The entire camp froze. "I haven't seen her since yesterday," Lori said suddenly turning her head around looking for the doctor.  
"So I guess she just vanished in a poof of air" Jaqui added sarcastically.

They ignored her comment.

"Last time I saw her she was with Dixon right here," Dale said hands in hips ready to interrogate the younger Dixon.

"I just figured she went back to her tent," Daryl said rubbing the back of his neck cautiously.  
"Well she didn't," Shane said sternly.  
"Where the hell could she have gone?!" He shook his head.  
"Shit…" Daryl cursed kicking a nearby pebble. He looked at the vast forest in front of him, there was only one place….

"Shane! Shane! There's someone speaking on the radio!" Amy's shrill voice suddenly echoed throughout the camp. Shane ran out of the scene and the entire group became distraught with the radio.

"So Sleeping Beauty actually made off without us, eh?" Merle suddenly crept out of nowhere and peeked into her tent. Daryl still stood there looking at her few belongings.

"I don't get it, she left everything here…" Daryl said confused.

Merle was high outta his mind as he judged his younger brother. He suddenly stormed out of the tent.

"Aw don't tell me you goanna be her Knight in Shinning Armor _again_?" Merle cooed before laughing loudly.

Daryl simply raised up his hand and flicked his brother over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Merle shouted.  
Daryl stopped in his foot racks and turned to face his brother.  
"You take care of that one." He said in all seriousness.  
There was a brief pause before he continued.

"And don't let her get away from your Cock-A-Saurous-Rex!" He shouted guffawing. 

* * *

Sloane found herself standing the middle of the Georgia forest. She looked around at her surroundings and every tolling tree looked just like the one she had passed. She had no weapons, no sense of direction. Nothing. It was just her and her soul alone in the wilderness. Ragged breathes escaped her as she continued wandering deeper into the forest in an attempt to find her way back to camp.

"I'm so stupid!" She suddenly cried out.

Her voice echoing the forest. "Daryl was right, curse him…" She said shaking her head.

In an attempt to clear her mind she had sneaked off a cigarette and had simply lost her way in the woods in the night. Then clouded by her anger she decided it would be a good idea to walk to South Carolina.  
She hadn't slept all night long and felt as if she had been wandering in circles. Her lips were chapped and adrenaline was surging through her body. The cawing of the ravens above her was beginning to play games on her mind. It was then that the sudden rustling in some shrubs nearby caught deafened her.

"Shit… shit, shit, shit!" She cursed completely defenseless.

She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat and attempted to stand her ground. What if it was a bear, or a mountain lion, or worse, one of those things… Where there even mountain lions in these areas?

When suddenly out from the bushes came sniffing about- a hound?

Sloane made eye contact with the dog who whimpered at sight making its ears pull down as its tail began to wag. Eyeing it cautiously ensuring it didn't have any scratches or bites she approached it. It was a German Shepherd, male from what she could tell, it was wearing a collar so it wasn't a feral dog or anything like that. Placing her free hand on its head. The dog instantly started crying. Sloane suddenly felt homesick she missed her dog Millie, even if Millie was a weenie dog and to be honest was probably dead by now.

The large dirty dog pounced on Sloane staining all of her clothes with mud and other grime. "Ugh! You stink!" She said scratching the dog's ears. The dog was also covered in fleas and ticks.  
"Where did you come from?" She said more to herself than the dog, since she knew the dog couldn't understand.  
Looking at the dog tag it read 'Kaiser' underneath it had a phone number an address from Mississippi. "You're a lo-o-ong way from home." She continued speaking with the dog. It was fairly thin and had a scruffy look to it as well.

For a moment she pondered on the pros and cons on having a dog as a companion. It would definitely be more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

There seemed to be no real sense of time in these woods, time either flied or simply stuck as if she was in the doldrums spiraling downwards into madness.  
It was suddenly sundown and she was still lost and with a dog. Fear still pulsed through her veins and her hands shook with every step she gave. At the moment her bright idea had been to follow the dog through the woods. Greatest idea or not, she knew that dogs had a hyper sensitive noses, specially German Shepherds, Kaiser could probably smell, hear and see the dead and other creatures in the forest better than she could.

Sloane dreaded even thinking those words that always made _every_ situation just turn for the worse.  
 _'I guess the situation just can't get any worse-'_ In that instant the sky clouded of gray and thunder began rumbling through the woods shaking the trees to their cores.

The dog whined looking up at the skies.  
"Great," the doctor muttered looking at her newest companion.

They continued walking as rain started pouring. The sound of the rain, her footsteps and her partner trotting besides her crunching the leaves below them was the only sound filling her ears.  
It was then that she suddenly felt something snake past her shoulder.

"Ahhh!" She shrieked sprinting away.  
 _'What the hell was that?!'_ She thought looking over her shoulder.

It was then that she could hear the rapid footsteps crunching the wet leaves chasing after her. She continued huffing- _crack!_

Sloane slammed to the floor. "Agh!" She cried out in pain. Her foot had caught in a root and she felt her foot slip to the side. Kaiser continued running. Sloane grasped the mud in her hands before jumping to her feet and running. And that's when she felt the creature trap her. The pounding of the harsh rain on her shoulder's was not helping.  
She waited to feel the teeth of the creature sink into her neck. The dog started barking and howling at the creature. She could feel its arms greedily wrap around her body. She waited for the deathly bite to come. She opened her mouth to shout for help but instead a hand clamped on it silencing her.

"Shut up woman! For fuck's sake!" A rough voice hissed behind her ear.

She felt a shuffle and heard a 'thump' as whoever was behind her kicked Kaiser making him whimper away into the darkness.  
She heaved her chest rising up and down violently and spun on her heel wincing at the pain.

"D-Dixon?" She asked breathlessly.

She was facing the younger Dixon. Both were covered in mud and soaked by rain. It took her a moment to realize just what had transpired.  
"Daryl!" She said a bit louder than she intended and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She was speechless.  
He froze, surprised, awkwardly waiting for the woman to remove both her shaking arms off him and her head which was buried on his shoulder. Sloane was still attempting to calm down her raging nerves. Hiding her eyes form his furious expression. It took a moment when she finally pulled away.

Daryl was soaking and covered in mud and grime from head to toe. Both of his brows were pulled together in his trademark scowl. He looked at the panicked expression on the woman's face and turned away from her avoiding eye contact.

"We need to get out of here. Now. Because of your loud shouting you've probably attracted every single one of those damn geeks from miles away _s_ ," he said through gritted teeth.

He reached for her arm and squeezed it tightly pulling her forward.

"Agh!" She groaned as she stepped on her bad foot.  
"I-I think I twisted my ankle," She groaned, "I'm fine."

Daryl looked at her in disbelief. This would only slow him down. He was beginning to regret coming after the doctor. Now he had to deal with this _burden._

"Daryl. What are you doing here?" She asked confused both eyebrows curved up in concern. Her eyes slightly widened as she spoke in a more gentle tone.

"You really are stupid," He sneered, finally turning to look at her.

To his surprise she actually agreed with him. Shedding away her swollen ego.

"Yes. I agree with you 100%." She said her eyes still wide.

Rain running down her shoulders.

"I have _absolutely_ no idea what I'm doing," she said raising her hands above her head, dropping them to her sides in defeat.  
"What were you thinking? Leaving camp in the middle of the night? Without a weapon? Alone?" his face scrunched up in disbelief.

"I-I was mad. I _wasn't_ thinking. I just wanted to be alone," she said wiping away from of the wet hair that was sticking to her forehead.  
"You obviously weren't." He said raising his eyebrows.

Daryl then realized that they were both standing in the rain, miles away from camp.

"You really don't know anything about survival, do you?" He said casting her a narrowed eye side glance.  
"I mean- Merle's been teaching me," she shrugged casually.

Something about knowing that _she_ was always with his brother made his stomach churn uneasily.

He hated seeing them both in the afternoon. Merle dipping in his tobacco habit or getting high while she stood next to him cooly. Always with a cigaret on her lips. He simply couldn't understand why or how they even got along so well. Merle didn't have any friends, and he certainly didn't keep any women around. (Not for that long.)

Hearing the crunching leaves from behind she turned to make sure Kaiser was following. Sloane could tell that Daryl was uncomfortable with her proximity. So she attempted to keep her distance edging slightly away with each step.

"If you want to survive out there. You have to know the woods. How to navigate them and the things in it that can help you or kill you. And most important- always keep a weapon with you," he said in that gruff voice of his.

"Out where?" Daryl was growing sick and completely impatient with all of her questioning.

"Out _there_." Was all he said in an attempt to end the conversation.

Sloane didn't know how Daryl knew where they were going. But at some point they reached a tall tree with low branches. However, she took the moment to analyze the younger Dixon. He was so different yet so alike from his order brother.

"Can you climb?" He turned to look face her, snapping her out of her thoughts.  
She only emitted a nervous chuckle. He rolled his eyes seeming extremely annoyed.

Somehow- someway, Daryl managed to get Sloane up to a tall branch on a tree. It involved her climbing on his back and then him huffing as he climbed up a tree.

"I'm so sorry about this Daryl…" She said in an embarrassed tone shaking her head.  
"Don't mention it," He said looking away, automatically ending the conversation- _again._

Sloane noticed that up in the tree there was a rope hanging with all types of squirrels and small critters. Down below was the dog looking up at the tree whining. The rain kept down pouring down on them. The tree did a poor job in keeping the rain away, but at least it had somewhat died down a little. Sloane began trying to dry her soaking her.  
In the drying of it, she turned to look at Daryl who was sitting as far away from her as he could.  
She felt she had everyone on the camp pinpointed except for him.  
It seemed like he mostly kept to himself besides sometimes conversing with his brother. He had strong features and permanently narrowed eyes, as if he doubted and didn't trust anyone or anything.

"Sumethin' on my face?" He snapped angrily feeling the blood rush to his face. She shook her head embarrassed that she had been caught starring at him so blatantly.

"I just wanted to thank you thank you, for finding me. Tonight and the other day. You and your brother saved me," she said sincerely.

He coughed uncomfortably.

"Don't flatter yourself," was the only thing he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.

He really wasn't one to make conversation.

"And the other day-" he began. "Never mind… You are just another mouth to feed." He scoffed once again turning away from her.

Another awkward silence filled the space between them. Thunder echoing in the distance.

"Is it really safe tone here? You know because of the thunder?" she began.  
"So are you going to tell me what you are _really_ doing in Georgia?" he changed the subject abruptly.

She muttered some curse words under her breath.

"Why are you so damn obsessed with what my business is in the State of Georgia?"  
"Why do you keep on lying about it?" He responded.  
"I'm not lying," she said growing more and more frustrated by the second.

"But you ain't tellin' the whole truth."

She took in a massive breath.

"O.K. Here's the deal. I'm a doctor and professor at a university in California. I'm head of diagnostic medicine. I did my residency in pathology, infectious diseases and my specialty is in immunology," she exhaled after she confessed the truth.

To her surprised he kept his focused gaze on her appearing to be following and on the same page.

"I came to Georgia for two reasons. First to work with the C.D.C. in hopes of finding a cure for this… _madness._ Second I came to give a talk at a local university on some old medical research."

She paused briefly before averting her eyes from his.

"And there is something else that I have to tell you. I owe you an apology for my childish behavior. It's just that… There is so much uncertainty in my life right now. I have no idea what to do, where to go, who to go with… I'm so used to living such a predictable life. I was in control of everything and everyone in it, but now…" she sighed and ran both hands through her head exasperated.  
"I guess I just took out my anger on you because you're not someone I can compete with."

O.K. Now he was really confused. This Einstein was claiming she was lesser than him? ' _Wait. What?'  
_ She had to be pulling on his leg.

"I feel like I'm transparent, and you're opaque,"

 _'What the hell is this woman talking about?'_

"What I'm trying to say is-" she said with a nervous chuckle. "You're not an easy person to read."

It wasn't long before both had fallen asleep in the tree branches. A rare technique that consisted on tying one's body down to the branches of the tree to ensure a safe sleep without falling seemed to do the trick. Sloane was sleeping facedown almost like a sloth with an arm and leg dangling from the branch. Daryl leaned against the tree truck with his arms crossed in an attempt to keep warm from the cold rain. He still couldn't fathom why Merle had taken such a keen on this woman. His brother's last words still echoed through his head.

 _"You take care of that one."_

 **Day 61:**

\- A scientist nearby was currently undergoing a crisis. His entire lab and research on the disease had just decontaminated erasing ll trace of his work and hope for a cure. 

* * *

**Location: [Woods by the Quarry]  
**  
"Remind me, why the hell did you have to bring that bag-of-fleas with you?" Daryl grumbled as him and Sloane made way back to camp.

Sloane simply rolled her eyes in his direction, a bored expression on her face. She figured he was not a morning person.  
If Daryl didn't have his mouth shut, it just seemed like he was just complaining about everything! She liked him better when he didn't speak to her.

No wonder he didn't talk. It was no wonder Merle called him "Darlyna."  
 _'What a diva,'_ she thought to herself.

"If you must know-" She began in a know-it-all tone.

Daryl glared at the useless dog in front of him. For the third time or so it had proceeded to chase away some squirrel and other vermin which could become a potential lunch. He was growing sick of being stuck in the wilderness with the doctor.  
She spoke in this uppity-know-it-all-tone half of the time. Always beginning sentences with "Well", "For your information" and "If you must know-".

 _'Ugh...'_ He just wanted to be rid of her already.

"Dogs have an extremely acute sense of smell and hearing. Especially German Shepherds like Kaiser. If there's one of those creatures nearby, odds are he will smell it before you even realize it's in the same area as you. Also German Shepherds are smart dogs, they can easily be trained to attack enemies and if you give him a chance… Kaiser might even surprise you." She said with a wink.

Just as in cue the dog came sprinting back from the depths of the forest with a large rabbit hanging from it's muzzle. The brown rabbit's fur was coated in blood. Its leg was still twitching and its eyes were wide open in pain. Sloane received the half-dead rabbit from the dog's mouth and in one swift crack of it's neck she ended the animal's life.

"Ah, the laws of nature." She sighed almost in awe.

Daryl shook his head and took the dead rabbit, hanging it on it his belt along with all the other dead critters.  
She was so odd. He had been up all night analyzing her attempting to piece her life together and what was so intriguing about her to her brother. She talked, walked and behaved like one of _them._ One of the civilized folk he had been surviving with back at the quarry. Yet at the same time, her way of thinking, and the way she would tackle nature was- (Stupid since she had no idea how to wield a weapon and was dumb enough to actually venture into the woods at night. Alone. Defenseless.)- just bizarre.  
He guessed her many years of medical training made her immune to gore, blood, and death...  
The sky was now bright and clear. The birds chirped and the cicadas of the Georgia forest buzzed loudly. Earlier that day, around dawn, when Sloane was still sleeping a doe crept right below the tree where they had spent the night. It had been hours that they have been following the tracks and blood trail in an attempt to find it.

"Fine, if Scooby-Doo over here is a better hunter than I am, can he find my damn deer?" Daryl complained.  
"Probably." Sloane simply shrugged her shoulders.

With a challenging glare Daryl pulled out a dirty rag covered with what she only assumed was blood from the deer. Kaiser sniffed it and instantly began the chase for the lost deer. Daryl followed the dog, seeing some faint deer tracks left imprinted in the muddy floor.

"H-Hey!" She said chasing after them, realizing that they would leave her behind if she slowed down.

Kaiser began sprinting and barking. "I think he's got it!" Sloane hollered.

Soon they both stumbled into an unforeseeable scene. The corpse of Daryl's doe was half eaten. Arrows were still sticking out of its body. One of those monsters had actually made it up the hills and had caught up to Daryl's prey. A circle of campers was already gathered around the scene and had already chopped the creature's head of its body. Some branches snapped as Sloane stumbled closer upon the scene. The dog stopped as soon as the stench of rotten flesh hit its powerful nostrils.

All weapons were immediately raised towards the hunter and the doctor.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl exclaimed.

"That's _my_ deer!" He said as he examined the carcass. "Look at it all gnawed on by this- filthy, disease-bearing, motherless, poxy, bastard!" He said each word after a brief pause, which he used to kick the corpse of the undead dead in fury.

That characteristic rage of him having the best of him.

"Sloane!" Amy cried out and ran to give her a tight hug. "We thought you were dead!" She cried out, "We were all so worried," The scene seemed to go unnoticed by the rest who were more concerned at Daryl's bubbling rage.

"Calm down son, that's not helping," Dale coughed out nervously.

"What do you know about it old man? " Daryl snapped and approached the elder gentleman, "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "On Golden Pond?" I've been tracking this doe for miles since dawn!"  
Without further a due Daryl turned to the deer and began retrieving his arrows out of the gnawed carcass.

"I was goanna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think that we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He said signaling to the un-bit areas of the deer.  
"If you want." The doctor replied in a smart-ass tone, "I wouldn't risk it."

"Damm shame…" Daryl muttered.  
"Daryl got around a dozen squirrels or so and some rabbit. I guess that'll just have to do." Sloane began explaining.  
"And _you._ Where did you go?" Shane raised his tone approaching her, his eyes like daggers focused on Daryl.  
"I went into the woods by myself. I simply wanted to have a smoke away from prying eyes and I simply lost all sense of direction," She explained innocently.  
"I was lucky that Daryl found me." She said fixing her eyes on him. The entire group still eyed him uneasily.

"If it weren't for him. I wouldn't be here right now." She said in the most innocent tone she could manage, batting her eyelashes at Shane. Amy's wrapped her arms around the other woman's body once again. A part of Sloane was uncomfortable with the young girl hugging her. _'Since when does she care so much about me?'_ she thought nervously. Maybe she as just a sweet girl…

Everyone turned to look at Daryl, Dale was ready to open his mouth when the attention of everyone was drawn to the head of gnarly creature which was moaning and gnawing and biting into thin air.

"Come on people. What the hell."

Daryl took the opportunity to avoid being the topic of conversation and put an arrow through the undead's head.

"It's gotta be the brain."

He explained as he began leaving the gathered circle.

"Don't y'all know nothing?" he called out as he stalked off.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the rest of the group who approached her to interrogate her of what had happened.  
She also got a hell of a scolding from Shane, which Sloane took, just wanting to get it over with.  
 _'Let him be right. You be smart.'_ The words rang through her head.

So far, the group also seemed to take a liking on the newest addition to the camp. She explained the benefits of having a dog on camp and they all agreed it was a good idea.

"We have been looking for you," Amy said finally letting go of Sloane's torso. She exhaled cherishing the freedom of her personal space.  
"I apologize Amy. I shouldn't have made you all fret. It won't happen again." She said with a small smile.

They began making the short walk back to camp when-

"SO YOU HANDCUFFED MY BROTHER TO THE ROOF AND LEFT HIM THERE?!"

The three females stumbled upon a nasty scene.  
Daryl's face was bright red and stating he was furious.  
He tossed the belt with all the critters and pulled out a knife attacking a man Sloane had never seen before.

"What the-!" Sloane turned to face Andrea, with questioning eyes.

"Long story short. The other Dixon wasn't playing nice, so we left him chained to a roof in Atlanta." She explained quickly.  
"WHAT?!" She could not contain herself.

Sloane didn't realize that she was roaring at the other woman. Her chest rising up and down violently in agression. In that moment she saw that her chances of her survival had been greatly reduced. Without the older Dixon the younger wouldn't bend to leaving the camp alone with her.

It was in that split second that Shane was now holding Daryl in an illegal choke hold. Sloane had been shoved to the floor and was being held in place by Morales.

"I'd just like to have a calm discussion. Do you think you can manage that?" A man dressed in a police uniform said stepping forward meet the other at eye level. A crowd of curious campers had just gathered around. ' _Just who the hell did this guy think he was?_ '  
He held the air of a non-threatening authority and Sloane wondered just who the hell he was and where he had come from.

Shane finally let Daryl go, Morales let go of Sloane and she sat up swatting his thick arms away. Daryl swiftly wiped what Sloane assumed was either a lost tear or some sweat.

"I'm going back," He said storming off to retrieve some items.

She simply looked down at the floor in defeat.  
 _'I guess I should've expected this'_ , this world called to have more than one survival backup plan.

"And you must be the doctor," her attention was suddenly caught by the new man who was standing before her offering a hand to pick her up.  
"Dr. Sloane Gadsden," she said rather weakly, her mind still racing at a thousand miles per hour. He introduced himself as Sherriff's Deputy, Rick Grimes, said he was Lori's lost husband and Carl's father. _'Small world, waddaya know?'  
_  
"I'm sorry about what happened with Dixon. Is he any relation to you?" He asked narrowing his eyes slightly, confused as to what was the connection between this woman and _them_ could possibly be.

"No," she said quickly "No relation," she said with unblinking eyes with a tight lipped smile.  
"Doesn't seem like the friendly type," Rick pressed for some more answers with mistrusting eyes.

He looked at the woman curiously standing with an authoritative pose.

"We live in a world of scarce resources. Friendships included. And I don't like to waste resources."

She excused herself politely and stalked off. His eyes followed her as she walked away.

Surprisingly, Andrea had been kind enough to bring Sloane some supplies from the run they had yesterday. Sloane had no idea they were going on a run. She had to admit, it had been very thoughtful of her.  
Today the group was to return to Atlanta to retrieve the lost Dixon. So far the people hat would be going were: Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and Glenn.

Sloane was making her way back to the heart of camp, her newest companion throttling at her side. When she ran into Glenn.

"Hey!" He said approaching her with a wide smile.  
"Hey," She retorted with her tense, classic, tightlipped smile. She wasn't in the best of moods now a days. If the group did not return with Merle she would have to devise a new plan for survival and wasn't certain how to proceed…

Should she leave the group by herself? With her medical skills, she would be granted immunity in every single group she encountered.

"I'm glad nothing serious happened to you," he began at a petty attempt to make conversation.  
"Yeah. That was dumb of me," she replied just as quickly putting a hand on his shoulder and walking away swiftly.  
"Be safe on your mission," she called over her shoulder.

Sloane walked to the furthest tent in the camp. It was ragged and had some small holes in it from regular use. Nearby the tent was the Dixon pickup truck with Merle's gang motorcycle on its trunk.

She was about to go into the tent when Daryl stormed out of it bumping into her. She was about to apologize, when he butted.

"What do _you_ want?" He snapped impatiently.  
"Um.." She began, unsure of how to proceed.  
"I image that Merle is probably dehydrated from being chained up on that roof for so long."  
She reached into her new knapsack and pulled out a brand new canteen "So, give this to him when you see him. He's going to need it."

Daryl looked at her for a moment. Unsure of what to say.

"I doubt the credibility of half of the stories he's told me, but he's tough. He's a veteran. I don't think 'nobody can kill Merle but Merle.'" She said with a rare sincere smile.

He noted the expression on her face yet said nothing. He simply ducked his head and walked away with the canteen shaking his head as he left.  
' _Truer words have never been spoken,_ ' he agreed with the slightest smirk twitching into his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 61:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]**

The group once again returned to Atlanta. Our protagonist returned to her tent ready to set up a new home for her newest partner.  
She looked at Kaiser who was wagging his tail at her. Despite being completely covered in mud, grime and other parasites, he seemed happy to be with her.

"Come on. Let's go get you washed up," she said excitedly taking him down to the quarry pond.

In the pond Sloane stood by the shore knee deep washing the dog ridding him of all dirt and parasites. She was near most of the women who were washing their clothes.

Shane was nearby playing catching frogs with Carl.  
Ed, Carol's husband, simply sat behind smoking a cigarette.

Amy, Carol, and Andrea were laughing as they discussed their previous sex lives and expressed how much they missed their old vibrators. Ed began bickering with the women. Andrea was making some bold accusations about Ed beating up Carol.

"You think we haven't seen the fresh purple bruises Ed? You think we haven't heard you at night?"

"This ain't no comedy club. So keep on washin'" He barked out as he lazily stood there with his cigarette.  
"Hey!" Andrea said walking towards him, getting on his case.  
"Don't you dare tell us what to do, when you are simply sitting on your lazy bum complaining about us doing your dirty laundry!" She said tossing a pair of dirty underwear at him.  
"Listen you-!"

No one seemed to be doing anything about Ed's outburst. Everyone was just frozen with their mouths agape. Carol shrunk in her spot in fear, Amy looked at the scene in horror and Lori with her mouth agape.  
 _'It's none of my business…'_ Sloane repeated to herself. It wasn't until Ed decided to get physical that her twisted moral compass forced her to step in.

"Hey!" she roared as she took a stand. Both of her eyebrows were knitted together and her jaw was tightly clenched. Everyone was taken back. Lori didn't know what was more terrifying if Ed or the doctor. She couldn't believe there were people like Ed that despite living in this hell. People who still put in effort to making people's lives just worse...

"Quit it." She stood between Ed and Andrea. With her eyes open wide in an attempt to make space between the two fighting parties.

"Now, Ed, 'Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here.'" She said with a stern expression on her face.  
His scowl deepened and he simply puffed out a cloud of smoke.

The dog stood next to her still soaking wet.

"My job isn't to listen to some uppity-smart-mouthed-bitch. Tell you what-" He cocked his head turned to look at his wife.  
"Come on. Let's go," He insisted in an imperative tone. Carol instantly stepped out of the pond's water ready to follow her husband.

"Carol don't" Andrea said stomping her foot. Turning to her with her pair of hard eyes. Amy stood there terrified, with her mouth wide open.

"Back off Ed." Sloane growled out.

He was walking on thin ice. Her patience growing thin.  
"Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your skinny ass. Just 'cause you're some college-educated cooze, all right, bitch?" Ed threatened cracking his fist. Sloane gave a step back, eyes wide.

"Now you come on," He threatened still glaring at Carol.

"-or you're going to regret it later," he shamelessly added.  
"Stop." She said between gritted teeth growing sick of the situation.

"I'm asking-" the doctor didn't get to finish her sentence. In that quick moment Ed's fist crashed against the doctors face. It was so fast she didn't even have time to react. She cried out as she collapsed to the floor, holding her face in pain. Ed suddenly screamed. The doctor could hear growling coming from Kaiser. The dog had pounced on her attacker and was currently latched on to his arm tightly.

Andrea sat Sloane up and removed her hands from her face. A moment to late, Shane decided to be the hero and came sprinting to the scene.

" _Platz_!" He shouted and the German Shepherd immediately ducked on all fours. "Stupid dog!" Ed growled out holding his bleeding arm. Ready to kick the life out of the hound.

It was then that Shane began beating the daylights out of Ed.  
Some other threats were uttered at the bleeding man on the floor. Carol was sobbing and wailing apologizing to Ed. Amy and Andrea lifted Sloane to her feet.

"Are you O.K.?" Andrea asked eyeing Sloane's right cheek.  
"That hurt. It's going to bruise right?" She said hissing at the pain.  
"Yeah" Andrea answered wincing.  
"I just wish I had a mirror…"

Ed and Carol stormed off, Shane walked over hands on his hips in his typical power stance.  
"He lays a hand on Carol or any of you ever again. I will kill him with my own hands." He said catching his breath.  
"Also." He turned to face Sloane "You're in luck. That dog. He's police trained. I could tell by the way he attacked. He obeys German commands" He turned to face the dog, which was now standing nearby wagging its tail slightly.

" _Hier."_ Shane commanded and sure enough the dog came to his feet.  
"You speak German Shane?" Sloane managed still holding on to her face painfully.  
"Nah," He said cockily wrapping an arm around her lower back escorting her back to the heart of camp.  
"Just German commands. Had to know them down at the station."

"Are you alright?" He asked walking her away from the crowd and towards the shade. His hand reached for her face and he held it carefully positioning it closer to his eyes for examination. Sloane looked at him suspiciously, and then she felt his thumb tracing her jaw- She turned her eyes to look at him, she recognized that _look.  
_  
"I'll live." She said coldly pulling away from his touch.

She wasn't about to become his new toy now that Rick had risen back from the dead to claim his wife and child.

"Is there any chance you can write these commands for me?" She said changing the subject. Focusing her attention on a petty frog that was hopping by.

* * *

"Acetaminophen… Aspirin… and Ibuprofen…" She wrote in the black composition notebook that she had stolen from Smithy Joel's custodian office.  
Proceeding to write the properties of each one of the medicines and what they were used for. This was all a preparation just in case she became absent…

After having sorted through all of the medical equipment she carried the massive carry-on bag where she had stashed it all in. The dog followed behind her everywhere in the camp.  
She approached the RV to store the medicines and on her way put she bumped into Amy and Andrea both of them carrying about a dozen of fresh fish.

"Woah!" She was amazed at the amount of food for the day.

Everyone else seemed excited as well.  
When Dale suddenly approached the group with a sullen looks on his face.

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but-…" Dale called everyone's attention to Jim who was digging holes in the edges surrounding the camp. She sat observing the people in camp like she often did.

"You know what the problem with this camp is?" She turned talking to Kaiser who only looked at her blankly.  
"Jim starts digging up holes and people act as if it was the end of the world!" She shook her head.  
"Then he starts fighting Shane- You know what I think the problem is? People here have nothing to do so they _just have to_ mind their own business, right?" she droned sarcastically.

Sloane spent the rest of her afternoon practicing the German commands that Shane had written for her. Her watch which was still working showed that time had really flown.

"Sitz!" she said and just as in cue the dog attentively sat.

The sun had set and the doctor trained her newest companion the darkness of the night. Andrea approached the scene slowly. That same fake uncomfortable smile that Sloane would flash others was playing at her features.

"Look! I wanted to show you what I got Amy for her birthday." She pulled out a small gift wrapped from behind her back. She unwrapped the paper slightly to reveal a small, shiny mermaid necklace. Andrea began talking about Amy's age, and her liking for mermaids, unicorns and other mythical creatures.

In that moment Sloane wanted to be anywhere else but listening to Andrea. As human and sweet as her actions were, she felt they were pointless. What was the point? It would've been probably better if she gave her a compass or a knife to wield.

In that moment she wondered how the other group was doing and when they would be coming down from the city…  
Sloane didn't know what to say or cared enough to make a conversation- "It's very nice. She'll love it!" She said almost in an automated robotic tone.

"The fire is ready; you should come down to the fish fry. Morales built an entire new fireplace for it," Andrea said with a small smile in a peachy keen mood.

However, something felt _off._

As they gathered around the familiar, orange glow of the campfire, Sloane noted the particular looks and cringing that the other members of the camp were giving her.  
 _'Ah, so it was starting so swell and grab color already...'_ she figured. She was surprised by the fact that Ed hadn't been ostracized from the group for hitting her. She figured either people didn't care enough or they were terrified of him.  
Dale began speaking; she noticed Ed wasn't around the campfire.  
She slowly stood up and walked over to his tent to give him a piece of her mind. Kaiser followed. As soon as she got there infuriated she ripped the tent open.

"Ed. I just wanted to say that I think you are a disgusting human being. You dare lay a hand on anyone else in this camp. Including your wife and daughter and I'm sure my canine friend here would just _love_ to sink his teeth into you again. And yes that is a threat. Also-" She

was interrupted by the canine whining.

"Kaiser?" She stepped out of the tent.

The dog suddenly sprinted away out of the scene.

"Kaiser! Sitz! Hier!" She shouted.  
Ignoring its master's commands the dog continued sprinting away.  
Sloane, still limping, chased after the dog. It didn't stop running until they reached the opposite side of the camp. He stopped at top of the hill by the quarry pond. The campfire could still be seen glowing from a distance.

"Kaiser!" She scolded.

At the same moment, Ed heard shuffling outside of his tent.  
"That nasty bitch is back…" He grumbled to himself.

"Listen you-" He grumbled getting to his feet. He was ready to give her a piece of her mind after she got away so suddenly.  
"Do you want me to do you another good one in the other side of your face?" He slurred closing his fist ready to attack. The tent opened and to Ed's surprise one of the undead came in. Followed by another. And another.  
He didn't even have time to scream, the creature instantly lunged for his throat and the rest swarmed around him and devoured him.

Sloane was scolding Kaiser, as she made her way back to the camp. The dog whined and anxiously moved around. It was then when Amy suddenly stepped out of the RV.  
"We're out of toilet paper!" She hollered bouncing off the stairs. Andrea looked at her sister and laughed, "Geez, she is so weird," she said turning to face Dale. Sloane could see the way that Dale looked at Andrea he was so distracted by his affections towards her that they did not notice the sweeping darkness. In that split second, out of the darkness came one of those creatures instantly gnawing at her arm from behind.

Amy shrieked and a deafening scream, catching everyone's attention.

"Amy!" Andrea shouted her voice cracking from the painful strain. Amy collapsed and the undead proceeding in its attack. It went in and bit off a large chunk of her neck. A cloud of red mist sprayed over the wall of the RV.

"GET INTO THE RV! GET INTO THE RV!" Shane shouted frantically. He ran into the scene assessing his role of "leader" and began shooting every single creep he would encounter.  
Morales and Jim rushed to get weapons to defend themselves and their own. The children started sobbing and shrieking, Lori and Carol both attempted to care for their young ones. It seemed like everyone was running to their loved ones.  
Sloane froze. She didn't know what to do. She had zero fighting skills. The only thing she knew how to do was run and hide. But in that moment-

She saw Andrea shrieking and sobbing, crying out for her sister. Carl clinging onto his mother tightly. Carol was looking around franticly calling Ed's name.

She realized she had no one to run to.  
No one to worry about.  
In that moment she felt like she was the dead one.

"No, no, no!" Andrea shouted. And rushed towards Amy.

Sloane was still frozen on the spot. Her thoughts racing to her beloved ones. She wondered where they were. If they were alive. She flashbacked to the university where she was when all of this nonsense started. And for some reason in moments like this the thought of Lucy came to her. Haunting her.

 _'Lucy…'_ She thought to herself, her eyes beginning to water.

The dog ran away barking, even he was smarter than she was.  
She had no weapons and simply stood in the darkness watching the panic unfold.  
She was so distraught in her past that she did not notice the creeping walkers that were approaching her.  
To her luck, suddenly, one by one they started dropping dead-dead. The sound of gunshots caught her attention making her twitch back to reality. A gasp caught in her breath as she registered what was unfolding before her.  
She turned to see Rick Grimes shooting them down. Glenn was there too and so were Daryl and T-Dog.  
In seconds it seemed like all the walkers were lying on the floor dead.

Sloane was still frozen in the spot. A single tear slid down her cheek as she exhaled the breath she had been holding.

"Have you lost your fucking mind woman?!" She blinked twice snapping out of her apocalyptic identity crisis to see Daryl standing next to her.

She said nothing just stared at him blankly.

"Just standin' here, actin' like nothin' is happenin'" He stretched out a hand indicating all of the corpses surrounding them. "You were real lucky we got here when we did." He said glaring into her eyes.

She still said nothing, remaining silent. He grumbled before stalking off.

Sloane was waiting to hear Merle guffawing in the background.

"Wait- Daryl!" She stopped him.  
"Where's Merle?" She reached for his arm.  
He simply turned around and with that permanent scowl on his face tossed the canteen she had given him earlier. The canteen was halfway empty.

"He's gone." He muttered darkly.

 _'Gone… like dead? What does that even mean?'  
_ She felt her heart drop. He couldn't be dead…  
She figured that if he was death Daryl probably wouldn't have come back.

"Doctor!" Her attention was caught by a desperate shout.  
Turning she saw Andrea desperately shouting for her.  
"Doctor! Doctor!" She was kneeling next to her sister who was half-dead on the floor.

"Move," Sloane hissed rushing to the scene. Andrea moved so that Sloane could examine the body. The girl had been bitten twice, once in her forearm and the second time in her neck, which tore her jugular out. The girl was going to die, even with proper medical care.

And despite that, even with the medical care, as far as Sloane knew there was no cure for the bites.

"Put pressure on her neck." She ordered.

The girl was trembling, lips shaking, choking on her own blood. Andrea was sobbing violently.

"Andrea… there's nothing I can do. She will die soon. Cause exsanguination, the jugular has been torn. Even with proper medical equipment there is little to be done," Andrea said nothing, only held in a chocked sobbed.

"SAVE HER! If you say you're a doctor save her!"  
"I can't Andrea." Sloane repeated in a strained tone.  
The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.  
"Get away. You are not a doctor. You're a fake!" Andrea shouted in rage. "You're a phony!" She shouted again.

Caught by the commotion the people around her started to look at her with uneasy eyes.

"She's lying to us! She's not a doctor!" Andrea shouted again.

Sloane started gritting her teeth at these tremendous accusations. Understanding that perhaps Andrea was in shock and did not realize the weight of her accusations she simply ignored her and retreated to her tent. Andrea's wails crying out Amy's echoing throughout the night.

 **Day 62:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]  
**  
The following morning a sulky cloud of fear had set in the camp. The survivors were no longer safe at the Quarry Camp. They would have to leave soon.

Sloane was returning from doing the business in the woods when she saw Daryl crossing her path to go elsewhere. However, as soon as he saw her he came to a halt and rushed towards her. She wondered what he could want with her after last night's conversation.

"Who did this to you," he growled noticing the violet bruises that were beginning to form on her swelling face. His flaring nostrils and just how quickly his temper set him on caught her off guard so it took her a moment to answer.  
"Oh. No, don't-don't worry about it," she said in an attempting to shrug it off casually.  
"Sloane. Who did this to you." He repeated. Demanding to know. His knuckles clenched at this sides.  
"Ed did it. But I guess that's been taken care off," she said shifting her eyes to Carol who was crying over his deformed body in the distance.

Amy had been bit last night too. Andrea was currently cradling her corpse. Lori had attempted to comfort her, but nonetheless had failed. So had Rick. Andrea had even pulled a gun on him. Threatening him to stay away.

"What do you think?" Rick was asking, hands on his hips with both of his brows turned up in concern.  
Rick, Lori, Shane, Daryl and Dale's eyes were on the doctor.  
Ever since last night's episode where Andrea had accused her of not being legit- well, camp had been somewhat tense…  
It was also hard to concentrate with Carol and Sophia's sobbing and crying in the background.  
"Why?" She would wail inconsolably. "I don't understand why his tent was open…" she sobbed.  
Somewhere in the depths of her twisted mind Sloane mused to herself, she knew why. She was remembering the peculiar scene she had with Ed last night, right before he became walker chow.

"I think Andrea shouldn't be allowed to own a gun," she replied blankly shrugging her shoulders. Shane looked at her with a pair of narrowed eyes.  
"What? I don't own one. You don't see me complaining."

"No." Shane sighed rolling his eyes, "About Amy's situation?"  
"Hm, if Andrea wants to get bit let her. It's natural selection. I don't see how that is any of our concern." She shrugged before standing up, dusting off her pants and stretching carelessly.  
"Hey, what is your problem?" Dale asked with a concerned look. Eyeing her with that wide-eye-grandfather "look" he gave people who did not agree with him.

Sloane hid her face. It was uncomfortable enough dealing with half of her face swollen and in disgusting shade of purple.

"My problem?!" She hissed back looking at him with thin slits in her eyes.  
"That girl is a time bomb," Daryl muttered, his face twisted into a frustrated scowl.  
"You want me to take care of it? fine I'll take care of it." She growled out viciously.  
"No. We should leave her alone. Let her mourn in peace," Lori pleaded reaching out for the Sloane's arm.

She looked at Shane with determined eyes and stretched out her fingers wide open. Without saying another word he placed his gun in her hand. Sloane was furious. She didn't know what was driving her to the point of insanity. Perhaps it was because she didn't have time to mourn her loved ones or maybe she just didn't care about anything anymore.  
With a slight limp she gave broad steps until she stood directly behind Andrea and just above Amy.

Arm raised. Finger twitch. Boom! Amy's been dealt with.  
Andrea turns. Eyes red. Rage. Fury. Madness. Arm raised. Finger twitch. Boom!

"Andrea!" Lori rushed to the scene. Sloane was frozen in the spot, her eyes hard on the corpse she had just shot.

Rick's mouth felt dry. Daryl's eyes went wide. Shane began shouting.

Andrea shot Sloane.

However, never having fired a bullet before the gun recoil made her arm bounce upwards and fire into the wilderness. With cold eyes, she felt rage boiling inside of her Sloane slammed the butt of her gun into Andrea's head making her collapse.  
Lori only looked at Sloane with an expression of pure horror as she bent down to hold Andrea in her arms.

"And someone take her gun away, _please._ " The doctor said coldly handing Shane his gun back. She flashed one last look at Amy, who was finally at rest. She had a peaceful expression on her face- all despite the crimson bullet hole in the middle of her forehead. Then again it's not like it mattered anymore…

With that last sentence she simply returned to her tent.

"Man, ice runs through her veins," shrugged T-Dog. As he began to carry Amy's body away towards the fire.

Daryl observed the woman as she walked away alone. Her dog eventually catching up her. He wondered what had gotten into her… Meanwhile he was dragging rotten corpses to the fire with Morales and Glenn. Andrea had been taken inside the RV to rest.

"We don't burn them!" Glenn suddenly yelled. "We bury them!" He said motioning to T-Dog.

It was a hot day, the weather was almost over 100 degrees. Everyone was frustrated, hot headed and terrified from the incidents from the previous night. Glenn wiped some sweat from his brow, and that's when Daryl just exploded. He tossed the corpse he had been carrying to the ground. "You reap what you sow, that's for leaving my brother for dead!"  
Feeling his head and anger pulsating he stormed off into the woods frustrated.

They had left his brother for dead. He was alone now. Just himself.  
It wouldn't be long before Merle returned with his vengeance and probably killed everyone in camp.  
He reached the shade of a tree and punched it in frustration. Burying his boiling head into his closed fists.

"Dammit Merle…" He cursed almost in a whisper. His brother, the only person that he had ever cared about was gone. Daryl felt his blood boiling, his head pounding. He felt his eyes well with hot tears-

"Talk about a Hard Days Night, eh?"

He knew immediately who it was. His eyes almost dried in an instant and his stoic mask once again covered his face. The scent of cigarettes instantly clouded his nostrils, intoxicating him.

Without blinking he turned to face the intruder of his personal moment.

"Want one?" she asked casually.

He rolled his head over to see Sloane standing a foot away from him. Cigarette lit in her lips. How the hell had she been standing there so quietly? He had almost missed her.  
Her other hand offered the white cancer stick.  
Silently, he took it and leaned forward lightning it. Not breaking eye contact. She had never noticed that his eyes were a rare shade of stormy blue. The bags under his eyes showed years of lack of sleep and stress and for a brief moment she wondered just what Daryl did in another life…

He retreated allowing the air of the cigarette burn his lungs.  
Oh, God. How good it felt to have a cigarette again. He inhaled the smoke for a minute, cherishing it. And exhaled delighted.

"I swiped them from Ed. The day he did this to me." She said pointing to her bruised face.

Daryl kept his eyes fixed on her, but said nothing.

He was analyzing her features. Her eyes looked brown in the shade, but a gold honey shade in the light. Part of her face was a shade of dark purple from that bruise that Ed had left. Specifically on her cheekbone opposite of where her scar large was. Dark circles were formed under her tired eyes. Her faded freckles only seemed to give her a more youthful appearance.

"I know smoking is bad, but ah- what the hell. The world ended already," She said casually attempting to make a conversation.

He remained silent. Not taking his eyes of off her. He really did not like this woman. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. And there was his brother again, in his head: _'You take care of that one'_.

"You really are something else…" He breathed shaking his head. A crooked cocky smirk grew on her face.

Unsure of what to say or do she simply shrugged her shoulders and stepped forward ready to leave.

"By the way, when is Merle coming back?" She asked cocking her head, looking at him with her steely glare. "Bastard is out there alive somewhere. Knowing him he's probably pissed off ready to come take his vengeance."

It was earlier that morning that the doctor had heard the grim tale that they hadn't found Merle chained to the rooftop like they left him. Instead they only found his hand. Yes, _only_ his hand. Afterwards he stole the group's truck.  
Figures where he went.

"Merle doesn't have _friends._ Can you tell me why you're so dear to him?" he suddenly asked.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"We just clicked." She began. "Sometimes you just find understanding with other people you know?"

Merle was a piece of shit. _What the fuck._ From what he could tell both were basically polar opposites. Merle was a vulgar, ragged lily-white assed, motherless hick that was the leader of a motorcycle gang and besides being high most of the time he also had the clamp. The doctor was the complete opposite. She was an educated woman who walked tall; she served an important role in the hierarchy of society, and- well that's all he knew about her. He had reached rock bottom in his judgment. He still didn't understand why she wasn't terrified of his brother. In any split second, if Merle decided he would attempt to have his way with her, he would.  
Worst part was that just like Ed, he wasn't afraid to hit a woman.

"Both of you have nothing in common."  
"It's not about having _something_ in common with someone," she retorted.  
"You could meet a person that can check list all of the things that might like and dislike and it still doesn't mean that you will get along. I just can't explain it. For example, tell me why are we friends?"

She had so much faith in her brother. Almost more than he had in himself.

"We ain't," he retorted with an unfazed expression.

She turned to face him with a lopsided smile it was almost like she was teasing him.

"O.K." She said with that same smile before tossing the cigarette butt and making her way back to camp.

 _'O.K.?'_ He looked after her as she walked away _'O.K.?! What did that mean?'_ He bit on the cuticle of his thumb confused.  
What the hell did she mean like that? Was she accepting it as a fact? Was she being sarcastic? Was she ignoring him?  
He felt his brain knotting as he tried to unravel the meaning of her response. He felt more frustrated than at the beginning of the conversation. Instead of gaining answers he simply had more questions.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" She heard the echo thorough the woods. It sounded serious. It was coming from camp. Both rushed back to camp to see what the commotion was.

"Jim got bit!" Jaqui was shouting pointing at him.  
"Ah, finally you are here," Shane said relieved.

Jim was presently grabbing a shovel ready to attack whoever came nearby. Beads of sweats had built on his forehead and his lips were turned down in an open scowl. T-Dog suddenly ran in from behind and held him in a choke. Jim gave up the shovel in defeat.

"A walker bit Jim!" Jaqui repeated her finger shaking as she pointed at Jim. Daryl ran up to Jim and lifted up his shirt to display the mark of death printed upon his stomach.

"I'm okay," said Jim weakly, his voice trembling.

All eyes on him. "I'm okay," he repeated trembling his humanity crumbling before the eyes of the camp.


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN:**_ _Phew, this is a pretty long chapter._

 _Thank you so much for the likes and follows you guys make my day 3 I appreciate good and bad reviews!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead and I do not make any profit._

* * *

 **Day 63:**

 **Location: [Quarry Camp]**

"Wait- are you really a doctor?" Jim said eyeing the woman with wide fearful eyes.  
"Do you want me to look at the _damn_ wound yes or no?" She retorted in an annoyed tone.  
"Let's take a look at that wound," the doctor said putting on a pair of latex gloves. (Who knew Dale read the newspaper with latex gloves? Said he didn't like the smell or staining of ink on his fingers).

The bottom part of her face was covered by a maroon red bandana. Jim lifted his shirt as he was lying on the dry ground in the shade of a tree. It was too late… The bite had already swollen and had turned an ill yellow puss color that would only grow in intensity and pain. The infection was obvious; it didn't take a genius to see it.  
 _'It's too late…'_ Sloane admitted to herself, trying to keep a straight face. She pressed her fingers on the veins on his neck in an attempt to feel his pulse. His heart rate was increasing.

"Please, tell me you can do something doctor!" Jim pleaded reaching out to squeeze her arm. His eyes begged for another opportunity. For forgiveness. For hope. She looked at Jim with a somber expression.

"I think what we have to focus on now is life quality, Jim," she said her lips drawn together into a straight thin line. She then cleaned his wound and patched it up carefully. Some of the adults had gathered in a circle, around Jim, this was in order to discuss the fate of Jim's life. She removed her gloves as she approached the group. Her dog loyally following behind her.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Rick as she met the group.  
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for him. The disease has already spread. It's obvious he is infected. It wont be long before he turns… The best option is to focus on _quality of life_ for now," she explained removing the bandana from her mouth and nose.  
"So what do we do?" asked Jaqui who was eyeing Jim warily from a distance. Guilt could be seen in her beautiful onyx eyes.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head," Daryl offered bluntly stating the obvious.  
"The line is pretty clear: zero tolerance for walkers."  
"You'd like it if we put a pickaxe through your head?" Shane challenged Daryl.  
"I'd thank you as you were doing it," He cleverly retorted crossing his arms in frustration.  
"We don't kill the living," Rick announced with stern expression setting everyone straight with a firm hand.

Sloane envied Rick's abilities as a leader. She wondered how it was that he so easily managed to persuade everyone to blindly follow him to the end of the world. In the short time that Sloane had known Rick she could tell that he was a natural born leader. People tended to take a better liking to him than to Shane's strict regime. Sloane almost felt bad for him, he had no idea that Lori had been fucking Shane while he was _'dead.'_

"Actually," Sloane interrupted, "Can we keep him alive?"

They all turned to her looking at her with a bewildered expression.

"I would like to analyze the disease, study him and how the disease works. We could tie him up to a tree or something and finish him off when he turns" she said casually.

All eyes turned to look at her with judging glares.

"What?" Lori screeched in an incredulous tone.  
"Have you no humanity in you?" Dale said in disbelief with that bewildered look he always gave her.  
"I'm just sayin' it's the best scientific approach to this walker nonsense," Sloane said shaking her head as if it was common sense.

The entire group looked at her with judging eyes. Great out of all the people she could get stuck with, it was with a bunch of _pro-walker-life republicans.  
_  
(Sloane Note: Just kidding the world ended already politics or political parties are no longer relevant, lol)

"Walkers have reached the hills so its obvious we can't stay here. We need to relocate. I heard the C.D.C was working on a cure," Rick began.  
"Yeah, you heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane interrupted.

There was only one reason why Sloane hadn't returned to the C.D.C. She hated to admit it, but that cryptic message that she received on that fateful night, it rose the dreadful feeling of fear in her. She often found herself wondering if the Jenners and Q were all right. She wondered if they were even still with _life._

"My best bet would be that the Center for Disease Control would be our best choice. It's 25 miles away inside Atlanta and they might be able to help Jim," Rick explained talking with an open palm as he spoke allegorically.  
"Sloane might also be able to do the research that she wants," taking an instant liking to Rick, Sloane thanked him with a nod.

' _He does have a point...'_ She thought.

"O.K. Rick you want those things, I want those things too. And if they exist is at Fort Benning. It's 100 miles in the opposite direction and it's a safer bet. They would be able to provide food and shelter- it's a safer bet." Shane repeated.  
"Fort Benning has been overrun like every other military cordon we've seen. Think about Jim. Besides in the event of a nuclear disaster or terrorist attack, the C.D.C. would be protected at all costs. If there's any form of government left, it'd be there," he stated.  
"Yeah, but how do we even know if there's still people in the C.D.C?" Shane challenged.  
"I would assume so. I mean it is the Center for Diseases. Doc, do you know?" Rick turned to Sloane who just shrugged, averting her gaze "I suppose."

Her phone had been dead for a long time so there was no way of even attempting to communicate with the C.D.C. She couldn't exactly remember the messages.

She thought of Edwin's message: **We need you. Now.**  
Then again there was Q's warning: **DO NOT COME. NO MATTER WHAT.**

If Q said not to come. Well- he knew what was best...

"Wait." Shane interrupted.

"You don't know what's happening inside the C.D.C?"

"No, why would I?" Sloane said standing her ground, running what her fingertips could reach of Kaiser's hair. She attempted to respond as casual as she could.

"Because you're a doctor. How do we even know you are a doctor?" He inquired an eyebrow raised as he observed her carefully.

"Do you doubt me?" She retorted raising an eyebrow mocking him. "You presented no credentials. You knew that being a "doctor" would grant you acceptance and immunity into any group of survivors," Shane said in an accusing tone.

Curse Andrea this is what happens when false accusations are made in the apocalypse. Who did she think she was to slander her name in such a way?

"Fine!" the woman snapped taking a step forward.

"I'm sorry the first thing that didn't run through my head when the world ended was ' _oh, I have to get my medical credentials._ '" She shook her head.

"I don't care. Believe whatever you want," she finished with a sneer before stepping back next to Rick.  
"Does it matter?" Daryl suddenly butted in, "The world has gone to hell already!" With that last statement he tenaciously stood up holding his miner pick axe and ran towards Jim trying to take a swing at him. That's when Rick stepped in and put his gun against Daryl's head making him freeze on the spot.

"We don't kill the living," Rick almost growled out.  
"Funny coming from a guy who just put a gun to my head," Daryl snapped back at the irony.

Rick lowered his gun. In that instance the door of the RV was thrown open. Andrea stormed out of the RV with her jaw and fists clenched in rage. Dale following behind her shouting her name.

"You killed my sister!" She screeched running straight at Sloane, "I am going to kill you!" she said attempting to pounce on the doctor.

With a quick step she successfully dodged her. Andrea instead began to pull the doctor's hair.

"Agh! What the-?!"

The doctor quickly placed her hand on top of the blonde's in her head. And with a quick kick to the shin and shove to her inner arm the blonde was off her. She ripped out a handful of chestnut hair with her. Lori was screaming at Rick to do something. Daryl was trying to kill Jim. Andrea was trying to kill Sloane. T-Dog was holding Jim from behind, and Shane was looking at the chaos unfold before him. Dale had just reached the scene. And was still shouting at Andrea to stop. Kaiser pounced at Andrea and bit her leg.

"HEY!" Shane's loud voice boomed.

Despite that nobody turned to look at him. The chaos continued unfolding, until he fired a shot into the air finally catching everyone's attention. Everyone froze and Sloane took that opportunity to slap Andrea across the face. The loud smack made everyone snap their heads to the two fighting women. Sloane shook her hand behind her back it stung from the blow she had just done to Andrea. In that moment, Daryl and T-Dog immediately rushed to pull Sloane to one side. Her dog was barking and growling at anyone who dared come near her. Glenn and Shane held on to Andrea restraining her.

"You killed my sister!" Andrea repeated, struggling.  
"Your sister was already dead," Sloane retorted calmly her chest rising up and down violently.  
"You were being stupid and selfish, and it was inconsiderable. You endangered the lives of everyone in this camp. I did you and everyone else in this camp a favor," she stated shrugging off the arms that were holding her back.  
"Rick-" She was seeking backup and turned to see both Rick and Jim gone. From the corner of her eye she saw them stepping into the RV.

Andrea said nothing, just succumbed to a river of sobs and tears and slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Andrea is right," Lori said stepping into the scene, all the children behind her.  
"We need time to mourn and we need time to bury our dead. _It's what people do."_  
"Um... Did you not get the newsflash?" Sloane raised her voice.  
"The world ended," she let some air pass through her nostrils. It seemed like a mocking chuckle at the woman's ingenuity.

"We have no time or place for mourning."  
"We need to go back to our old ways," Lori pressed.  
""It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change," I hope you remember that," and with that she followed Jim inside the RV. 

* * *

"No, no, no, no… Anything but this please…" Jim cried inside the RV shaking his head.

He would groan and pant nervously all while running his hands through his hair.

"What are you feeling Jim?" The doctor asked cautiously.

Tapping on the composition notebook before her. The doctor sat next to him taking notes on his increasing temperature, and his other symptoms. From the window, she could see the others burying their lost loved ones. Sloane didn't have either the time or patience for that.

"I heard you're not really a doctor," he said rolling his head towards her.  
 _'Again with this bs...'_ Sloane shook her head and said nothing just leaning in and wiping his forehead with a wet cloth.  
"Well, like you said. The world ended. So I guess anything is possible now a days," Jim mused in a trembling voice.

Suddenly Rick and Lori entered the RV. Lori's expression turned into a frown as soon as she met Sloane's icy golden glare.

"Is there anything that you need?" Rick asked Jim politely.  
"Um…" He was taken back.  
"Water. I could use more water," he said meekly.  
"I'll get some," Lori said, looking for any excuse to leave the RV.

Rick nodded and sat next to the doctor. It seemed like he wanted to have some alone time with Jim and this was also the perfect bathroom break. Stepping out of the RV, Kaiser was waiting outside for Sloane.

"Nausea, vomit, dehydration, hallucinations, sweating, ossis pain…" she read the developing symptoms out loud.  
 _'There has to be a cure for this… It can't be impossible to cure. And if not it must pass...'_ Her brain raced to all the major plagues that humanity had endured. Ranging from the infamous bubonic plague, to tuberculosis, polio, AIDS…. Perhaps, the Jenners, Q and the other scientist had made some progress with the disease.  
On the way to the C.D.C. as the doctor ensure that Jim was comfortable and didn't turn her mind began racing. _What was she doing?_  
She had wasted almost two months doing nothing, but loafing around. She had done absolutely no progress or research on this disease. If anyone could cure this it was _her_ and she knew it.  
She had to do something. Anything. She had been way to lenient with the group, loosing control of them and their activities. Somewhere along the way Jim pleaded that he could not bear the fever anymore, so the group pulled over and left him outside under a tree for him to die in peace. Much to her dismay, Sloane was not able to fully analyze this specimen or the symptoms of this mysterious disease. As they lay him to rest and people said their last goodbyes something snapped inside of the doctor. Now that Rick was here people had began looking up to him as the new leader. She pursued her lips shut into a tight, thin line. With both of her fist clenched tightly at her sides she made up her mind to take over the group. It was for the best of everyone.

Sometime later that the caravan finally reached the C.D.C. It was almost dusk when the group was greeted by the impregnable stench of death and disease. Hundreds of corpses decorated the front and back of the C.D.C. The buzzing of flies deafened her ears. It was obvious that the military had been here… She pulled her now trademark maroon bandana to cover both her mouth and nose. Kaiser loyally trotting by her side as they advanced towards the massive building. The smell was enough to make anyone gag, most coughed and covered their mouths as they walked between the corpses on the floor.

"Hurry!"  
"Shhh!"  
"Careful" and "Silence!" could be heard as we advanced towards the building.

When the group finally reached the door. Rick and Shane failed to pry it open. It was obviously locked.  
 _'I don't know what they were expecting a welcome cocktail party?'_ she mused.

"There's nobody here," said T-Dog fear coating his voice.  
"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick questioned still banging on the door. Suddenly she heard a whine and saw Kaiser fidgeting uneasily.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted.

Immediately guns were cocked and the children began sobbing. This was growing old.  
"You lead us into a graveyard!" Daryl shouted as he shot a walker straight through the eye.  
"He made a call!" Sloane defended Rick.  
"It was the wrong damn call!" He challenged.  
"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" Shane began shouting erratically getting physical with the walkers approaching.

The other women started asking questions in panic. Shane began to get neurotic. Rick's eyes were wandering everywhere. The group lacked the resources to return to Fort Benning. Everyone was becoming hysterical, the sobbing of children and the approaching of the night was not helping the group's case. People started running back to the RV's, the doctor stood slightly behind Rick.

"The camera- it moved!" he suddenly shouted.  
"You must have imagined it." Dale shot back, retreating.

She didn't see anything, but Rick had placed all his faith in her and she felt obliged to do the same. Shane began attempting to drag Rick back to the caravan. Lori was shouting that there was no one there. Rick growing impatient began pounding on the door.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Please we're desperate!" Rick pleaded.  
"Please help us! We have women, children, no food or gas. Nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in you're killing us!"  
"Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane shouted wrapping an arm around Rick. Poor foolish Rick, if only the world was as compassionate as he thought.  
"C'mon, we gotta go," she suddenly felt a hand hold a tight grip on my arm and pull her away. She turned to look back at Daryl who had his typical pissed off expression on his face. His eyes showed a sense of urgency.

Rick continued shouting as if his life depended on it "You're killing us!"

The doctor shook off Daryl's arm and hustled towards the CDC were the camera was standing. Despite the movement the camera remained immobile. She pulled the bandana down her face. Walkers were quickly surrounding the perimeter.

"This is Doctor Sloane Byrnes-Gadsden." She shouted in her loudest, most authorative tone.  
"You have to open this door _**now**_!" she demanded looking straight at the camera. Her voice echoing the walls of the massive metal building.

Rick continued shouting "You're killing us!"  
"You're killing us!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Daryl once again got a tight grip on her arm and began pulling her away. When suddenly, they were all blindfolded by a bright light and the sound of gas hissing. Everyone froze on the spot. The iron door was ajar. 

* * *

She had almost forgotten what it felt like being inside of an air-conditioned building. It was clean and cool. And the best was that there were no walkers around.

"Hello?" Glenn called out. His voice echoed the massive, austere walls of the C.D.C.  
"Sloane!" the man exclaimed as he ran towards the group. He had blond hair and was wearing scrubs. It was Edwin Jenner. He grabbed a hold of the doctor's arm and pulled her behind him.

"It's great seeing you again," he suddenly not removing his eyes or the aimed gun from the group.

She saw that the entire group's eyes were wide looking at her in shock.

"Who are these people?" he asked her, his finger on the trigger ready to shoot.  
"Edwin, lower your gun. They are with me," she said in an attempt to persuade him to lower his gun.

"Anybody infected?" he called out eyeing the Quarry Camp survivors carefully.

"One was… He didn't make it," Rick answered for the group not removing his finger from his rifle's trigger.  
"All that we are asking for is a chance," Rick suddenly stated.  
"That's asking an awful lot these days…" Edwin said as he approached the group slowly, he still didn't remove his finger form his rifle "I know," Rick replied not breaking eye contact.

The man eyed the group carefully, analyzing each woman, child and man, and with that he decided to lower his rifle.

"Fine then, follow me," he said turning around.  
"I can't believe you're alive," Edwin said grabbing her arm as they advanced deeper into the C.D.C.  
"I can't believe my luck," he repeated, shaking his head in disbelief.

The group walked a couple of steps behind the doctors. Lori eyed them curiously, so did Rick and Daryl, there was something fishy about this entire situation…

"Dr. Gadsden, if you would please… there is something I have to share with you. Your work had been pioneering in the field of medical diseases and contaminations," he whispered only so that she could hear.  
"What's the status in your research?" she whispered back.  
"O.K." Shane's voice suddenly resounded from behind the doctors. "What's the big deal with the whispering. What are you hiding from us? How do you know each other?" He said halting the group to a stop. "We'll get to that later," She hissed glaring at Shane.

It had been months since she had last held an intellectual discussion and Shane wasn't about to ruin it.  
"Science stuff," She said rolling her eyes hazel eyes at him. There was this look in Edwin's hollow eyes. He seemed deeply disturbed. He knew something.  
"Is there any chance that we may stay in here for the evening?" Sloane asked kindly.  
"Of course," Jenner said without hesitation and then turned to look at the group, "However there is a price of admission. All of you must submit a blood sample, _even you doctor_. You must pay this price in blood. Any complaints?"

Still breathless Rick agreed for the whole group.

"Also, the dog can't come into the lab. So he will be staying in the main lobby."

Jenner's lab was beautiful. The elevator ride to it was somewhat awkward there was a tense feeling in the air. Walking in Sloane felt like a fish back in water. Since the apocalypse had began this was probably the happiest moment since.

"Where are Q and Candace?" She asked her eyes darting all around the room.  
"Q is…" was all he said.  
"Let me introduce the group to Vi." Jenner proceeded to introduce the group to Vi, his computer assistant. Also the voice of reason in this laboratory.  
"Pleasure having you back Dr. Gadsden," Vi greeted.

Sloane didn't mind paying any attention to the introduction; _where was Q? Where was everyone? The other scientists were gone.  
_

"So do you want to explain what this is now?" Shane asked shaking his pointing his finger between both of the doctors.

Without a smile, Edwin just turned to look at the other doctor to explain.

"As you all know, I'm in the medical profession. I'm a woman of science." She began explaining.  
"-And I came to Georgia a couple of months ago for several reasons, one of them was to work on the C.D.C. in an attempt to find a cure for… this virus. I- _We_ had been working at the C.D.C. for about a week when I had to present a conference at a university. That same night I was overrun and I received two text messages. One was from Dr. Jenner asking me to immediately come, and the other was from my assistant warning not to come to the C.D.C. no matter what."  
"So you knew that it was over run? And you still agreed to come here. You wanted to kill us all!" Andrea barked stepping forward.  
"I didn't know what was happening," she simply said.  
"Just like everyone else I took a chance."  
"Thankfully we were lucky because if not we wouldn't be inside here right now. Safe and sound right?"

Jenner said nothing in regards of her explanation he simply instructed the group to follow him to a separate room where he would begin taking blood samples from everyone. Sloane sat next to Carol and Sophia who were patiently waiting for their turn. Edwin was presently getting Andrea's blood sample.

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever," She said.

Sloane visibly rolled her eyes. _'What an idiot…'_ she thought. It is obviously medical protocol especially during a situation like _this one_. Better safe than sorry.

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting _you all_ in here." Jenner began.  
"I wouldn't have allowed any of you in if you weren't in the presence of such a renowned scientist," he raised his blue eyes to meet Sloane's whose ego once again begun to swell.

Andrea turned to glare at her who was currently fighting the urge to smirk back at her instead keeping her pose. To think there was a chance of both of being becoming actually good friends.

"Who exactly are you?" Glenn said with his eyes wide, turning to face her.  
"Have you ever picked up a book?" Jenner retorted in an annoyed tone, finishing drawing Andrea's sample "Her name was basically in every newspaper in Georgia when all hell set loose."

Soaking up the attention, the strutted down the stairs to have her blood drawn.

"Dr. Sloane Byrnes-Gadsden, is one of the most well known scientist in the world. She's particularly well known for her life changing research in the fields of Yellow Fever, Ebola, Zika and AIDS-" He began explaining.  
"My proudest accomplishment was when my team found the cure for the Swine Flu virus. Back a couple of years ago…" She boasted.

She didn't even bother disguising the flattery that was getting to her head. Jenner took her blood and called Carol and Sophia.

"So- you're some kind of super genius then, huh?" Shane said eyeing her carefully.  
"No. I am not a _'super genius.'_ I am a consulting medical doctor, head of diagnostic medicine with a residency in pathology, infectious disease and a specialty in immunology," she explained briefly.

"-And a professor at Stanford University," Jenner coughed up.  
"In my free time only," she said casually shrugging. Lori was looking at the woman with her moth agape.

"But you're so young," she commented in awe.

Sloane shrugged she figured her and Lori were about the same age, it wasn't her fault Lori had dedicated her short life to being a housewife (and not a faithful one at that). The children seemed confused. Dale had that wide-eyed look he always gave her. Rick had cocked his head to the side in interest. Shane had his eyes narrowed in mistrust and so did Jaqui. Daryl was nibbling on his thumb in a pensive pose. T-Dog had the same expression Lori had, and Glenn and Carol seemed- concerned?

"Why didn't you say so?" Glenn said in awestruck.  
"I don't like tooting' my own horn," the doctor let out a small chuckle.

Suddenly Andrea swooned almost falling over Jaqui.  
'Attention seeker,' the doctor thought bitterly as she stole the spotlight from her.

"Are you O.K.?" Jenner asked and the attention suddenly turned to the blonde.  
"She's really weak. We haven't eaten in days," Jaqui explained with that natural tenderness she had.  
"I have just the thing," Jenner said leading everyone outside of the room.  
"Edwin, wait." She said holding on to his arm to pull him back.  
"Thank you so much for this, really," she said giving his arm a squeeze one more time.  
"Food and shelter? It's nothing Sloane," he said shortly.  
"No, for giving me back my purpose," she almost exclaimed.  
"You don't understand- I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but- I wanted out. I had lost my purpose in life. I live for medicine, science, research…" she said passionately.  
"It's no problem," Jenner said simply walking away.  
"I can't wait to see Candace and Qurban!"  
"Sloane," Jenner suddenly breathed.  
"Candace is dead. And Q he-" It was then that she noticed Daryl had been standing by the doorframe casually eavesdropping.

The doctors exchanged looks and went silent.

"Right, everyone follow me to the kitchen."

She froze for a moment not believing Edwin's words. _'Candace was dead and Q? Just where was he?'_

The group walked into the C.D.C. kitchen, which was stocked with mountains of food. T-Dog waltzed in and cheered opening a large bag filled with bread rolls. He stuffed a roll into his mouth immediately.

"Hmmn…" He said loudly enjoying every single bite.

His enthusiasm was contagious and made everyone eager to sink their teeth into the food. Dale looked ecstatic, Lori had an ear-to-ear grin and Andrea still had that permanent mug on her face.

"Right. While you guys take a look around I'll speak with Dr. Gadsden for a second."

Without hesitation both of them sneaked out of the room.

"Edwin, what happened?!" She asked urgently as they trotted outside of the cafeteria. As soon as they were out of sight. Edwin broke down sobbing and explained what had happened. Apparently Candace got bit and eventually she transformed and was euthanized. _Q on the other hand…_ Jenner took Sloane to a distant room in the building. In there after passing several security stations, there he was. Sloane's eyes went wide for the first time since the apocalypse had begun. She covered her mouth in horror a small cry escaping her lips.  
Qurbar was wearing torn clothes; he was locked behind an observation room. His face rotten and twisted into a snarl. Some of his skin was missing and his mouth was soaked in a tar-like substance. His fingers had been carved so that his sallow, sharp nails became more prominent.

"Q…" She said pressing up a hand against the class.  
Q immediately reacted and pressed himself against the glass. He stuck out his tongue and began licking and biting the glass. His fist banging against it in a determined attempt to break through.

"He turned…" Was all that she could manage to utter.

Her eyes met his blank ones in an attempt to find any trace left of humanity in him; it was gone. _He was gone._ Edwin proceeded to explain how Q had turned.

"It was his insulin," Edwin began.  
"He ran out and then it was just time."  
"But he was never bit-?" she protested, darting her eyes between Jenner and the creature.

Edwin avoided the question and shared what he knew about the creature's behavior. He explained that as time went on scientist began losing hope of finding a cure. Most decided to take the easy way out. He also explained that all the research he had been going was lost a couple of days ago when there was a contamination in the lab but out of protocol the entire lab was incinerated and the information lost.

"What have you been doing?" he asked.  
"Surviving," she said with a small scoff.  
"I've been keeping track of my day to day activities," she said handing Jenner a composition notebook from her knapsack.

Jenner looked at her writings for a couple of minutes. Despite his grim mood the slightest smile appeared on his face.

"You've been writing all this in third person point of view?"  
"What? Something wrong with writing from God's point of view?" she laughed.  
"You can't just write what you think other people are thinking. It's inaccurate," he stated in a dull tone.  
"Edwin," she began.  
"Would you mind if- if I stayed here for a moment? With Q? I'll catch up with you and the rest. I want to be alone with Qurban for a moment," Jenner nodded and returned to the cafeteria.

Sloane sat with her legs crossed in front of her right in front of the glass cage. She observed how desperately the creature tried to break through. This was the first time she was this close to one of the walkers. She simply sat there observing it her eyes swelling with pity. 

* * *

_Due to Edwin's comments and recommendations on my writings I've had to change my style to writing in first point of view. My point of view. Without guessing what the others are thinking (regardless of how accurate I think my predictions are.)_

Wine was poured, whiskey bottles were opened, and bread was split. The Quarry Survivors, Edwin and myself were sitting in a long cafeteria table. The people were cheering and enjoying their food with jolly smiles. Even I was having a good time, this had been the first meal we had had in days.

"O.K. I ate," I said standing up from the table, "I'm going to go work," I said in an attempt to leave the room.

"No, no, stay," a tipsy Glenn reached over and grabbed my arm holding me in place.

Edwin insisted that I stay. He said it would be rude to the host to abandon them for work.

"Doctor, didn't you get the news? The world ended. Take a break. I promise you that you will be more efficient after some leisure time," Edwin persuaded.

I grumbled my fingers twitching. I couldn't wait to get my hands working on this lab. So, I decided to sit in the outskirts of the reunion on top of a table a couple of feet next to Daryl. I saw he was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hands slowly drinking it, enjoying the golden water. I helped myself to a bottle of honey whiskey myself glaring at him as I uncapped it and brought it to my lips. I took a good sip and felt the honey whiskey burn my throat; I sucked in a deep breath after.

"Can't hold your liquor?" He said judging me.

"Are you kidding me?" I said taking another sip.  
"As a southern' gal." I said taking another sip in my best accent.  
"Gold Water is to be respected. If you respect the whiskey in turn it will respect you," I said in an authoritarian tone taking a'nother sip. "Ahh.. I'm in heaven," there was something in his eyes; I think it was a look of disbelief. He took a sip of his own whiskey and a smirk crossed his lips.

 _'Damn…'_ I thought to myself ' _I would kill for a Mexican coke right now,'_ I thought still savoring the taste of the burning alcohol. Being a native of South Carolina whiskey made me miss my home. My friends. My family… I wondered if they were still alive, odds are they probably _were._

"You're not from the south," he suddenly pointed.  
"Contrary to popular belief I am," I said drunkenly poking his chest.  
"I was born and raised in the Palmetto State. All you see here, is Dixie pride Dixon," I said before punching my chest proudly.  
"Pfft… You're big talk. I bet I can out drink you," he proposed.  
"Oh yeah?" I replied.

This was a bad idea….

"Alright. Let's take shots then!" Daryl exclaimed in a very out of character tone.

Soon some of us were surrounded in a circle. Glenn, Daryl, myself and T-Dogg.

"Drink Chinaman I wanna see how red your face can get!" Daryl laughed as Glenn struggled to swallow his drink, his face turning a shade of violet due to his Asian glow.

Suddenly in the midst of the glee and alcohol Jenner looked serious and pensive. His lips were drawn into a straight line and he appeared to be absolutely miserable. Andrea was shaking her head in disapproval. Lori wouldn't allow Carl to taste wine, and Shane looked… pissed?

Suddenly Rick stood up and clinked his cup.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly," he began, taking his position as the leader of the group.  
"He is more than just a host," T-Dog added raising up his cup to toast.  
"Hear! Hear!" the group cheered toasting.  
"Here's to you, doc." Daryl even added a "Booyah!"  
Everyone followed shouting "Booyah!"

I simply smiled and raised my bottle to Edwin. Despite the excitement Edwin only raised his glass of wine not making eye contact with anyone. I started to feel it already, the alcohol buzz sweeping over me. Even in my current intoxicated state I could still tell something was up. Suddenly, Shane opened his mouth. Why was it that every time Shane opened his mouth something bad happened?

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane butted. Suddenly all the joy had been sucked out of the room and a tension filled it instead. Rick and Shane began arguing, I was too buzzed to care. But everyone was now looking at Jenner in search of some answers.

"Well, when things got bad many doctors left. They left to see their families, and when things got _worse_ and the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted. Many couldn't face walking out of the door so they… opted out. There was a rash of suicides. It was a bad time," he explained.

"But you didn't." Andrea said observantly, stating the obvious.

I shot her a stink eye from across the room. I was really was starting to dislike that woman…  
"I stayed here working, hoping to do some good." Jenner explained calmly. She looked at him with a twisted expression of disbelief. But I understood Jenner.  
"Dude…" Glenn suddenly stood up almost falling on his face, "You are such a buzzkill, man," he said to Shane shaking his head.

I raised my bottle agreeing with him and drank even more. _'I guess that's a statement we can all agree on,'_ I thought to myself before taking a sip. Some people laughed and I realized that I actually said that out loud. _'oops…'_

I rolled my eyes and sneakily grabbed another bottle of whiskey before heading off to find the room where Q had left my belongings the day I left the CDC. Kaiser had been left in the main lobby with some food and water. He was not allowed to wonder the CDC before begin completely analyzed and washed to ensure he didn't bring in any ticks or fleas with other potential diseases inside the CDC. Part of me missed my shadow, but Edwin insisted.

"Edwin," I said drunkenly grabbing into his elbow as everyone walked to their rooms.  
"Take me to your lab. So we can work." I almost begged him holding on to his lab coat tightly.

With that stoic face of his he turned to look at me.

"Doctor, I promise you that you will be most efficient after a good night of sleep. We can work tomorrow morning," he said to me.

He turned to the group. I hated that he wasn't calling me by my name. That he kept distancing himself from others and myself by addressing me as "Doctor."

"If you shower go easy on the hot water," was the last thing he said before disappearing.  
"Hot water?" Glenn said with a broad grin on his face his eyes almost gleaming.  
"That's what the man said," said T-Dog grinning clapping his hands eagerly, his expression mirrored Glenn's.  
Everyone cheered and made of to their own individual rooms. Even I managed to stumble into a room.

"Ah! My stuff!" I said cheerfully as I saw the bags and luggage that I had packed.

I immediately ran towards it almost tripping and pulled out my button up matching pajama pants and shirt. The room had two large sofas and a sofa chair in the corner. A computer and a desk sat on the opposite wall. There was a door that lead to what I figured was the backroom. Feeling the alcohol get to me. I tossed my belongings to the corner sofa chair and managed to put the two sofas together so it was like a larger bed. I hid the unopened bottle of whiskey under one of the sofa pillows I brought the other one to the bathroom with me.

"To the shower…" I sang to myself. Stumbling to the bathroom. Knocking into the walls in the process.

I sighed as the hot water hit my body. I sighed content in relief.

"This is amaziiiiing" I sang, my voice echoing the walls of the white bathroom.

Who would've thought that it was all those little things I took for granted that made such a huge difference in my life. I was overjoyed. Finally I had a purpose again. The moment I stepped out of the shower I caught a glance on myself in the bathroom mirror. I almost didn't recognize the person on the reflection in front of me. Half of my face was now marked with two-inch scar on the side of my face from the fateful day that I crashed a stolen car when the apocalypse began for me. The other half was now a yellow, green shade from the bruise that Ed left me. My faded freckles still splattered across my face, my eyes remained the same. Hair was wet, tangled and sticking to my face. It wouldn't be long before the wrinkles around my eyes became more prominent and my hair turned silver. I was getting old and the stress wasn't helping. My work is what has kept me alive and young. It was my reason for living. Curing people, saving strangers I would never know. The fame, the glory. I didn't have to worry about anyone else other than myself. I stepped out of the shower and dressed in my super comfy pajamas. Walking back into the room I picked up my bottle and continued drinking.

"I think it's a good idea to go work at the lab," I said almost incoherently.

I waltzed outside of my room to the hallway. Which was when I saw Shane Walsh angrily storming from one side of the hallway to the other. His displeasure brought a sneaky grin to my face.

"And what the hell do you think you are looking at Gadsden?" He barked stumbling in my direction.  
"The virtue of ignorance prancing upon me," He looked at me with a confused glare, "Oh and your ugly mug too," I said before falling into a fit of giggles.

"Listen!" He snapped slamming his fist to the wall next to me.

"I don't like you. I don't trust you. And there's something vile about you that I can't wrap my fucking head around."

"Maybe the fact that I'm not scared of you because I think your attempts to seduce Lori and rise in this Machiavelli leadership are extremely unsucees-"

"ENOUGH!" He interrupted me this time wrapping his meat claws around my shoulders and pushing me against the wall violently.

"You can't touch me…" I coughed out with a smug grin, not even feeling the throbbing pain in the back of my head. In that second a door in the hallway opened wide, "What's the deal with the-"

Daryl approached the scene.

"What the fuck," He said running towards Shane and I.

The empty bottle of whiskey slipping off his fingers and into the empty hallway.

"Get the fuck off her," Daryl said suddenly shoving Shane off me. Shane stumbled back spilling some of the wine he was drinking on the floor. The hoods of my eyes lowered looking at the developing fight before me in amusement. Daryl looked confused, but not half as furious as I'd imagine him to be. Shane on the other hand was red in rage.

"Don't tell me what to do you fucking redneck!"

"What the fuck did you say copper?" Daryl said stretching his arm ready to strike Shane.

In his drunken state Shane turned to look at my broad drunk smirk. His fist clenched and he took a large gulp of his wine.

"You know what… Go fuck yourself," He said flipping both of us off and huffing away into the entertainment room. I guess he wasn't going to give me the satisfaction.

"Yeah, just what I thought," Daryl said drunkenly puffing up his chest and waving his arms.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I wore a wide stupid smile on my face.

"And you-" he slurred crossing one foot in front of the other waltzing towards me. My breath caught in my throat. I stumbled backwards into the wall behind him one foot dancing behind the other. I brought my hand to my smile in an attempt to hide my drunk giggles.

"What are you laughing at?" He slurred as he approached me.  
"My hero!" I said wrapping my arms around him smacking my lips against his cheek. I froze with my eyes around his neck, his hands reached for my arms.

 _'Shit…'_ Our eyes met and in a moment of impulse we simultaneously proceeded to suffocate each other in the act of pressing our mouths against each other. I stepped forward holding him closer until his head hit the opposite wall of the hallway. We made eye contact for a moment and continued. I felt his arms wrap around me and his hands traveled past my waist reached for my-

My eyes went wide. I pulled my head back stumbling backwards. I looked at his half lidded eyes and his painfully confused expression.

"I-Uh.. I-" I was at loss of words _'Uh-oh'_.

My eyes darted towards my room, regret immediately washing over me.

' _What was I thinking?'_

Without a second glance I drunkenly jogged to my room. Once inside I leaned against the white door behind me.

"Why am I so dumbbbbbb?" I said to myself.  
 _'What the hell was I thinking?!'_ I shook my head dizzy and threw myself on my sofa.  
 _'What the absolute fuck was I thinking?! Did I just make a move on Daryl?! Why?!'_ I placed a hand over my racing heart and approached the large sofas like bed I had put together. I missed my privacy. I didn't want anyone to come in. It took me a couple of moments to cool down but it worked. I sighed as I started sinking into the comfy sofa.

"Ah, I've missed this just the three of us… Me, myself and I…" I said with a smug smile on my face reaching for the second bottle of whiskey.

I was already dizzy me vision blurred around the edges, and I couldn't stop thinking about him… I needed to get him off my mind.

"This is the last time I drink. After tomorrow, it's all work, work, work, work" I sang as I opened the bottle. I started laughing when I remembered that song that Rihanna used to sing.

"One drink for my momma, one for Qurban, Candace and-" suddenly I was blinded by a bright light.

Light erupted into the room, I jolted up. Awake and pretty drunk. There was a shadow standing by the door.

"W-What do you want?" I slurred approaching the person.

It was Daryl.

"I'm looking for my mom," said Carl who was looking up to me in curiosity.

Wait. No-It wasn't him…

"Ah… Right…Your mom…" I tried in my best non-drunk voice.

"You should try the Rec room. That's where I heard she was going to be most of the evening. Goodnight," I said slowly closing leaning back into the sofa.

I attempted to hide the bottle I was currently drinking behind my back. The boy closed the door I sighed pulling the bottle up to my lips again. I could feel the tips of my fingers tingling due to the intoxication. When suddenly, the door bolted open again.

"Carl. Did you find her?" I droned out lazily.  
"No." a gruff voice answered.

Okay.

That was definitely not Carl.

I shrunk in my sofa, pulling the covers I was using over my head.

"I know ye have it..." The voice drawled again as the person stumbled around, I couldn't see who it was or where they were going, and I did not want to see. Wait, that thick accent- it was _him.._.  
I took a long, hard swing of my bottle. You could hear the shifting of liquids in the pitch-black dark room. I heard him approaching. I hugged the bottle tighter to my body and brought my knees to my chest in a fetal position.

"The whiskey!" he exclaimed as he ripped the blankets of my body.

His breath was hot and like mine stanch of alcohol.

"This whiskey?" I retorted drunkenly.

Waving it in front of him, and I felt it again that feeling inside of my stomach the pits of it boiling with desire. My spring fever was coming back. I _had_ to control myself. He said nothing and ripped it out of my hands helping himself to a good pouring. I collapsed falling back into the sofa.

"Hey!" I whined reaching over for the bottle.

"Selfish," he muttered putting one of his rough hands on my face pushing my away.  
"You already finished one and you don't want to share the other one," He said.  
"So did you!" I retorted pushing his hand away.  
"You know what I think?" I said sitting up leaning forward on my elbows.  
"I think you just came here looking for an excuse to talk to me," I said with a sly smile poking his cheek.

He wrapped one of his hands around my finger and brought it down back to the sofa.

"Are you really that drunk?" He let out a rare laugh.

' _Yes,'_ I felt like answering.

"I'm here because I bet you that I would outdrink you, and I will."

"Gimme back my bottle," I said waving my arm in the darkness until I managed to touch the cold glass and snatch the bottle from him.

I got a hold of it and crawled to the other end of the sofa. I felt him climb on and approach me. I placed my arm on his shoulder for support as I sat on my knees.

"Mine!" I half whispered half hissed. I barely even felt it but one of his hands had wrapped around my waist holding me in place.

"Fine Dixon. If you are so _adamant_ about helping me finish _my_ bottle. We are going to have to play a game."  
"I hate games," he slurred still holding me close.

 _'What a grouch.'  
_

"Marry… Fuck… and Kill. The rules are simple, I say three names and you say which one you would marry, fuck and kill. Easy right? If you don't want to answer, you drink."

He said nothing, so I assumed it was safe to proceed. We were currently sitting next to each other. His arm lazily hanging around my shoulder as we shared the bottle as if we had been war partners or long time friends.

"O.K." I started, "Andrea, Jaqui and Lori!"

I heard him raspberry and whiskey blew everywhere as he spat it out.

"You have to answer!" I said playfully smacking his arm.  
"Nope," he said and repeated several times before taking one long drink from the bottle.

I leaned towards his shoulder and pressed my grin against his arm in an attempt to conceal my laughter.

"My turn," He said handing me the bottle. I was still laughing.  
"Shane…Dale… and- Chinaman," I couldn't help myself I clenched my stomach laughing even harder.  
"Can I kill myself?"

I sniggered collapsing on one of the sofas. It was only seconds later that the bottle slipped out of Daryl's hands and he collapsed in the sofa facing mine.

"You really are something else," he said shaking his head.  
"You keep on saying that. What does that even mean?" I pressed even more confused in my drunken state.  
"You're just not human… A loaded gun," he mumbled incoherently.  
"Daryl," I groaned against the pillow changing the subject.

Feeling the weight of the previous months of stress weight over me.

"I have to confess something…" I said reaching for his arm squeezing it tightly.

"No, don't tell me you're 'bout to git all mushy with me Gawdsdan," He said rolling over to the side so he was facing me; he wasn't even able to pronounce my last name correctly.  
I felt my face burning as I remembered the kiss we had shared just a couple of minutes ago.

"N-No!" I denied my uncontrollable emotions. I immediately changed the subject.  
"You're going to love South Carolina," I said in an over-excited glee tone.  
"South Carolina?" He repeated confused.  
"Yes!" I chirped sitting up feeling the room spinning.

Daryl sat up leaning his weight back on his elbows. He looked at me as I allegorically spoke about home. I waved my hands with emotion to add depth to my story laughing at every bad joke I threw in. 

* * *

_In that moment Sloane didn't notice, but Daryl was observing her and he wondered if this was what Sloane was really like._

 _Merle had always taught Daryl that when drunk, people reveal their true colors. Daryl remember that, at least he remembered his father's true colors…_


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 64:  
**

 **Location: [Center for Disease Control]  
**

I stood on the edge of Jenner's table looking at several different blood samples thought a microscope. A large Gatorade bottle sat next to me easing my awful hangover. I was happy to finally be wearing my own clothing.  
I wore a pair of comfortable, dark blue jeans, a maroon t-shirt that read "Stanford" in faded letters and a pair of black tennis shoes. On top of my outfit I was wearing a pristine lab coat I felt right back like a fish in water.

"I am so happy to finally be wearing a lab coat!" I sang out in a cheery voice.

He raised an eyebrow looking at her confused. His eyes remained half lidded as if in a daze.

"Hey, Edwin." I said calling the doctor over.

He approached me cautiously hands behind his back.

"Have you thought of an official name for the virus?"

Edwin just shrugged off the questions remaining mute.

"I was thinking of calling it " _Nekros Apodosi"_ it means "Returning Dead" in Greek. Fitting don't you think? We can call it NAV or NA."

Edwin still didn't say anything.

"What does SBG mean? Is that a label for infected? Or something?" I managed to speak even thought my head was throbbing and the lights were blinding science was my true passion.

I wasn't going to let a silly headache dull my spark. Edwin pursued his lips briefly and sighed.

"No, Dr. Gadsden. SBG does not stand for that… However, you are correct that blood sample is infected with the virus."  
"Who's is it?" I asked slowly, the realization that there was someone in the group that was infected.

He was quiet for a moment "It's yours."

I think my heart skipped a beat. Did I hear right? Was I so hangover that I was hallucinating?  
The world stopped. I felt my stomach swell with nausea and my heart drop. I looked down at the ground in disbelief.

"W-What?" I repeated blinking the confusion out of my eyes. I felt my heart begin to throb in my rib cage. My mouth felt dry. I reached for the table behind me and used it to support my dead weight.

"Its your blood sample Sloane. I'm afraid you are infected with the virus," Edwin explained sadly.  
"I-I don't understand. I haven't been bit-yet. How?"  
My knees trembled as I spoke. My mind was racing at a thousands hours per hour.

I was infected.

"Please, remain calm. You are infected, as am I. As is everyone else in your group."

This was not possible.

"This is an airborne disease. You already know this. It means that you don't have to be bit to be infected. Once you die, and your body stops fighting it. You will turn. Which is exactly what happened to Qurban. As soon as he ran out of insulin and his pancreas stopped working we knew it wouldn't be long until he died. We both knew that. It was a sad day when he died he injected himself with a serum that would kill him. None of us saw it coming. Not even Candace." His voice broke.

 _'Oh no…'_ that could only mean one thing. I looked at him in disbelief.

I wanted to say it was impossible. That it couldn't be true. That Q hadn't just turned, that he hadn't been the one to bite and turn Candace into one of those creatures. I wanted to believe that I wasn't infected, but I don't like lying to myself.

"I'm afraid there's no cure for it. Its over." Jenner said his expression stiff and his eyes cold.  
"That's not true." I protested.  
"There has to be a way to cure it. To slow it-"  
"There isn't!" Jenner raised his voice, he spat through gritted teeth.

In that moment Rick, Lori, Shane and the rest of the group walked in coming back from breakfast. Immediately they sensed the tense atmosphere in the air.

"I want to show you something Dr. Gadsden. All of you too."

Edwin said as he then pulled up a video on the screen.  
Test Subject 19 the screen read. The video showed the MRI of a human who had been bit. I noted how the disease and the infection progressed like meningitis ultimately destroying all brain activity. Then the body reenacted itself the hippocampus and the basic functions of the brain becoming reanimated.

"It takes from a few minutes to 8 hours after death, and the conscious human traits do not return…" He said turning to look at me again.

"From all the laboratories the French came closest to finding a cure, but we lost communication with them."

There was an audible gasp in the crowd. Was this the end of human civilization?

"Fuck you Edwin." I spat out at him with rage.

I saw Lori and Carol cover the ears of their children. Their expressions were fearful. They had seen my mad before, _they knew what was coming._

"Fuck you and your fucking pessimist ways," I said pointing a long finger at Jenner.  
"Just because your wife is dead doesn't mean that the world ended. You could've continued working. Made some progress, but no- I guess this is just how you take the easy way out, and yes- you are right about something. Human civilization will cease to exist. It will cease to exist unless we do something about it," I shouted reaching for my temples, the horrible hangover hammering inside my head. I almost felt as If my brain was currently being drilled on.

"I am going to find a cure for this! You'll see!" I sad storming out of the room.

"Hey, where ya goin'?" T-Dog called after my shadow.  
"To get my dog!" I retorted.

I made my way out of the hallway and down to the lobby of the C.D.C. were I knew Kaiser was being kept. As soon as I opened the door Kaiser ran and pounced on me almost knocking me over. There it was again- that nasty hangover headache.

"Hi boy!" I smiled scratching its head. I wondered what I had ever done to deserve such a good dog, I had seen him last night when I feed him and here he was greeting me as if I had been gone for 10 years. He started barking and pouncing like crazy.

When suddenly the lights flashed off wiping the smile off my face. Something about that sudden power off gave me an ill feeling. I made my way back to the underground were the rest of the group was, ready to continue my research and prove that bastard, Edwin, wrong.

I reached the door but for some reason it didn't' open when I approached it. I slapped my hand against the door lightly.

"Jenner!" I shouted angrily.

It was then that I heard the screaming and the banging on the other side of the door.

"Sloane!" A muffled voice called, it sounded like Shane.  
"Open the door!" The voices shouted in muffled tones.  
"Let us out!" They were coated with urgency and fear.

 _'what the-"_ I pressed my ear closer to the metal door and felt the desperate banging throbbing my already aching head.

 _'What in the world-..'_

"Y-Yeah!" taking some steps back I sprinted back and tackled the metal door in an attempt to knock it down.  
"Oww…" I uttered. That was going to leave a bruise.  
It didn't help that Kaiser was barking our of control. I raised my leg and attempted to kick it down, but failed.  
I banged my fist against the door feeling my knuckles beginning to become sore.

"I-I can't! It's impossible!" I shouted back.

"Sloane- can you hear me?" It was Rick. Anxiety and desperation could be heard in his voice.  
"Rick- what is-?"  
"There's no time to explain- There should be a code box outside. Try and guess the number. You have to get us out of here- NOW!" His voice cracked in the end.

I ran to the number box and opened it. A code?  
A code to open the door. How was I supposed to guess the number out of all of the thousands of potential combinations?

"O.K!" I shouted back.  
"If I was Edwin… what would my password be…" I wondered out loud looking at Kaiser for answers he only starred back at me blankly.  
"You only have one try! If not the entire building blows up!"

"Fuck."

I suddenly felt the mammoth responsibility of the lives of everyone in the group anchoring down my shoulders. Weighing down like the world on an Atlas. My hand trembled as I looked at the number box.

"SLOANE! Hurry!" Rick's strained voice bit the back of my head.  
"Let's hope for the best…" I muttered plugging in four numbers wincing as I did.

As soon as I opened my eyes there was a beep and the door opened wide. There was no explosion. Rick and some of the others almost stumble to the other side falling.

"We have to get out of here!" Rick shouted pulling me away. "The place is going to blow up!" He shouted drawing Lori and Carl along with him.

"What?!" I shouted shocked.

Going against my instincts I let go of Rick's hand and ran back into Edwin's lab to see him Jaqui and Andrea sitting together holding hands.

"I shouldn't have underestimated Dr. Sloane Gadsden," Edwin said in that dull voice of his. On the screen up above everyone's head was a timer countdown it was signaling the eight minute until the CDC blew up.  
"So this is how it ends for you, huh?" I said to the three of them with my arms crossed.

The three of them remained quiet in shame.

"I don't envy you. Au contraire this _upsets me_. I'm going to find the cure and get to the bottom of whatever is happening. But fine, give up. Call quits. We are all humans and we will die at some point no matter what we do. When you live and you die, the dash between those two numbers is your life. And I am appalled to see the dash that you are-"  
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Daryl suddenly sprinted in through the metal doors.  
"Wah-" I didn't even respond, in that second he gripped my arm tightly and dragged me out of the building with him. I felt as if he was going to rip my arm off!  
Kaiser was barking and following behind us.

Once outside we fought our group through a small wave walkers until we reached the caravan. I still couldn't fend for myself so Daryl took them all out.

"Get inside the RV, I'll catch up," he instructed, still holding my hand.

I froze and stared at him with eyes wide. After this morning's episode things were… Not surprisingly a little awkward.

"Woman! Go inside!" He repeated snapping me out of my thoughts.

Without a second thought I obeyed him and went inside of Dale's vehicle. Once inside the RV I peeked my head from the top of the car the building still hadn't blown up. Dale had returned for Andrea. My head was throbbing, all I wanted to do was pass out and forget about reality for a while.

It was suddenly that we spotted _them_.

Dale and Andrea sprinting out of the building. And following after them were Jaqui and Jenner.

It was then that the building blew up in a massive explosion.  
Debris, smoke and fired beamed and blew out of the once majestic C.D.C. the explosion was painfully breathtaking.

My mouth felt dry.

Instantly the caravan was on the move again.  
Daryl on Merle's motorcycle. Rick in a truck with his family, Carol and Sofia. Andrea in Shane's jeep. T-Dog and Glenn in another car and Dale, Kaiser, myself, Jaqui and Jenner in the RV with Dale.

"I hope I don't regret following you into the apocalypse Dr. Gadsden," Jenner said with a sigh a tired expression in his eyes.

"You won't." I said in an icy tone looking away, really not in the mood to deal with him. Especially after the massive suicide stunt he had just pulled.

Jaqui was just looking down at her hands softly crying, briefly having escaped her first suicide attempt. Despite what had just happened I was thankful to have been in the C.D.C.  
If I hadn't perhaps I would be in the same position as Jenner and Jaqui. This visit had given me a new purpose.  
Knowing that regardless of how I died I would turn into one of those monsters made my stomach churn. I felt a jabbing pain in my chest knowing that I couldn't tell anyone else.  
The knowledge that I had a virus crawling in my veins terrified me; I wanted it out of my system. I felt like peeling my skin and draining my own blood in hopes of getting it out of my system.

"I only have one question…" He began, clearly not getting the hint that I didn't feel like talking to him. The passing trees behind him blurry and blackened from the dark smog.

"How did you know what the password was?"  
A sly smirk grew on my face, "8-7-1-9?" I repeated the numbers.

"People tend to hold on to what their loved the most… I only typed in your wife's test subject number: TS-19. My password would have been 5-8-2-9," I confessed.  
"Clever." He said chewing on his thumb. "I believe it is these bonds that weaken us, but at the same time have the potential to strengthen us," I said to him with a small smile.

 **Day 66:** **  
**  
 _I prefer writing in third person point of view. I feel that it will portray a better perspective of the lives that we are currently living. Not one that is biased by myself. So thanks for the recommendation Edwin, but no thanks._

 **[Location: Abandoned Highway]**

Sloane woke up with the sudden halt of the RV which knocked her head against the wall. The group had been traveling for a couple of days.

"Fuck…" she muttered her headache still not improving.  
Kaiser whined still lying down on the floor obediently.  
The first thing that came to her mind was the perverted knowledge that she knew: they were all infected.

She thought of the consequences that would ensure if she confided this to anyone else the group. There would be chaos. Some secrets were just better left unsaid…  
There was no way that she could tell everyone about the biology that was occurring inside of their bodies. She wouldn't dare. Perhaps, one day when she found the cure she would be able to explain this to everyone.

"Damn, I think one of the radiator hose finally gave out," she suddenly heard Dale say to them. She hadn't realized that he had stepped out of the RV.  
"Where are we?" Jaqui asked looking up from her knees she had been hugging the entire ride.

"Looks like a blockade of abandoned vehicles," Edwin said observing the dozens of abandoned cars which were blocking the road.

"Bleib," the doctor said to the dog who following his owner's command stayed in the RV.

Sloane stumbled to her feet stepping outside of the vehicle, Jenner following behind. Jaqui's eyes traced her figure as she stepped outside the Winnebago. The doctor had cured her of her lack of faith. Jackie once again had faith that they would find an end to this madness, part of her still wasn't 100% certain that Sloane had been right, but for now there was nothing she could so but patiently wait.

Outside the group once again gathered. Dale was beginning to explain what was wrong with the RV to the rest of the survivors,

"We are now stuck in the middle of nowhere-" he was saying. As he had been speaking about his desolation. Some people, such as Daryl, were currently scavenging through the car graveyard.

"Well… that was dumb," He said when he realized the bounty they had stumbled upon. All of the cars in the graveyard were stashed to the top with food, weapons and other important resources.

"Can we find a radiator hose?" Dale asked.  
"There's a whole bunch of stuff that we can find," he called over his shoulder as he continued scavenging through the car's items.  
"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said jumping into action.  
"I'm going to look for some food," Sloane said advancing into the car graveyard. Her lab coat moved with her as she advanced deeper into the perimeter.

"This is a graveyard," Lori's suddenly pessimistic voice came to everyone's attention. Everyone looked uncomfortable. "I don't know how I feel about this…" She bean.

The doctor felt her head began to pound she wasn't sure if it was because of the terrible hangover she had or because of Lori's nasal voice.

"Well-" she snapped turning her head, eyes glaring in slits like a snake's.  
Everyone bit their tongues not wanting to get involved with the unraveling scene.  
Lori looked at the doctor with fear in her eyes, she already knew that she was about to spit out some venemous remarks.

"If you are so uncomfortable with the idea, I just won't share my resources with you. _Happy Lori?_ " she spat at the woman.

Lori opened her mouth to say something but instead crossed her arms and looked down upset.

"You have to adapt. This is isn't the world that we used to live in. Now you are either dead or not. Fine with me if you don't want to progress, just- don't hold back everyone with you," she finished before walking back to the cars realizing she had lost precious time in that argument. Edwin followed her.

"Are you going to let her talk to your wife like that Rick?!" Andrea suddenly barked out her eyes wide in rage. Rick looked between the women and after the doctor, he hesitated but decided to follow after her.

"Sloane, wait-" He began. His mind was running and ticking as he attempted to figure out what to say to the doctor.  
"What?" she said rolling her eyes towards him, clearly annoyed.  
"If this is about your wife, stop wasting my time I'm not going to apologize for being right," she said climbing to the trunk of a car.

"Listen- I just wanted to ask you. I can see that you have a very- _interesting_ way of looking at life," he began.  
"Not the word choice I would've used, but- proceed," she said picking up a small pink backpack with the clothes of a child inside "Astrid" it read on the outside.  
"I just wanted to ask- it's taking a long time for everyone to get adapted to this new _environment_. And I just wanted to ask that you speak to my wife and everyone else with a little more respect- and-" he was interrupted.  
"Fine. Whatever. Please waste my time some other day. Thank you." She said rudely, shutting him out and returning to her scavenging. Rick frowned and shook his head. There was really no way of dealing with her and her terrible attitude. He briefly wondered who had the worse temperament if Merle Dixon or Sloane Gadsden?

Feeling defeated Rick exchanged a look with Edwin before returning to the Winnebago to look out for walkers with Dale and Glenn.

"Am I wrong?" She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts turning to face Dr. Jenner.

"No, not wrong," he said agreeing with her. "But you do need to be more sensitive," he began to explain.

Frustrated she grumbled tossing a pair of sandals over her shoulder.

"You don't want to alienate yourself from the others, they might come in handy," Jenner began in a calm tone.  
"I didn't come her to make friends, and I do not plan on apologizing anytime soon. You show no weakness to get to the top. How do you think I got to were I am now?" she said looking down at him from the top of the truck.

 _Rick observed the doctor from afar._  
 _Just what had ignited in her that had her acting and reacting like that this day?_

"On top of a broken down truck scavenging for miserable bits of food and clothes that might not fit you?"  
"Smartass." She retorted. "You know what I mean!"  
"Sloane. You need to be more understanding with these people. _They are not you._ They have feelings, they don't understand death or how to react to it. You need to be more _human_ ," he explained carefully holding several bags that she had tossed at him.  
"What happened to you? You suddenly just- snapped?"  
"I did not _snap."_ She droned. "I am simply adapting."

She continued with her search and found some clothes her own size, some bottled waters, a large pair of scissors in a box. "I guess it is my lucky day," she said to herself playing with the large scissors.

From afar she could see the other members of the caravan observing her and Jenner with wary eyes.  
Lori's eyes focused on her, so were Daryl's, Rick's and Andrea's.

' _A loaded gun,'_ Daryl's words echoed through her head.  
 _'Not human,'_ Edwin's sudden words also echoed in that big head of hers.

She had to start appealing a more "human" way of her to the caravan. If they were not able to listen and respect her with her tyrannical outburst, there had to be a way to convince them to see her as their leader.  
 _Ethos, Pathos and Logos_ are said to be the three methods of persuasion according to the Greek. If Logos or the logical approach didn't work she was going to have to scale down to Pathos, or emotional manipulation.

She was currently looking down at the dried carcass of a woman. This one hadn't turned. Sloane wondered why she hadn't turned. I mean if they were all infected..  
As she analyzed the body she saw something that caught her eye. The woman was wearing a long necklace chain which had a shaped white quartz at the end. It was beautiful. She knew that it would have no use to her in the apocalypse, but she was still human. She shamelessly removed the necklace from the woman and slipped it on.

"Where are you going?" Jenner asked as he himself looked through one of the cards.  
"To use Pathos to appeal to the larger masses," she huffed stalking away. Jenner shook his head in an attempt to hide his growing smile.

"Hey Carol," she said approaching the gray haired woman cautiously.  
Seeing the doctor approaching her, she instantly froze fearing the worse. She turned to look at her with alarmed eyes. Sophia, hiding behind her mother, observed the scene carefully.

"I-I found this," she said pulling out the pink backpack from behind her back.  
"I assume it must have belonged to a child, specifically a girl. But then again, who am I to judge gender roles-" she then realized she was losing Carol's attention.  
"So," she cleared her throat.  
" I think Sophia might like it. There are some clothes inside and I think some glitter markers," she said quickly making an effort to keep prolonged eye contact with the woman.

Carol smiled at her gratefully and quietly thanked her. Lori eyed Sloane suspiciously. The doctor was biting her tongue at her best attempt not to snap at the woman that had started to get on her nerves.  
It was then that Rick came sprinting towards them.

"Get down!" he hissed. The women looked at him confused.  
"Get down!" he cried once again.

Everyone ducked and rolled under the cars hiding from the approaching walking undead.  
Sloane saw how the dead ones stumbled around almost as if drunk. With them they came bearing not only disease but the stench of death and fear and disorder into the Quarry Survivors.  
Sloane and Jenner were both huddled together under a car.

"I swear Edwin, if I ever look like one of those things please shoot me," she whispered.  
He slapped his hand over her mouth keeping an eye out for the walkers.  
"Not the time for jokes," he uttered back with an annoyed look on his face.

Soon the coast seemed clear Everyone came out of their hiding spots. It was then that Carol shrieked.

"Lori! There's two walkers after my baby!" Carol cried out.

Lori was attempting to keep her calm.

"Uh-oh, this is not good," Jenner muttered only so that the doctor could hear.

Then suddenly the light bulb went of in her head head.

"Or is it?" she said with a determined face.  
"You are so fucking twisted," he shook his head.

If Sloane was the one to save Sophia from the walkers they would all certainly _"love"_ her and fall under her command in the snap of her fingers.

"Sophia!" She shouted sprinting after Rick who had been following her. She rolled down a slope and into the woods and stood up immediately.

"Rick! Sophia!" Sloane shouted she ran towards the woods.

She continued advancing until she heard a twig snap.

"Rick!" She said turning to face Rick. She panted catching her breath leaning her hands on her arched knees.  
However- it was not Rick but a walker.

"Oh, shit...!" She looked around to see if there were anymore in the territory. The creature had once been a woman. Her eyes were a washed over lemon green and her thinning, red hair was almost gone. Half of her nose was gone and all of her sallow teeth were gleaming a bright crimson with fresh blood.

Her heart jumped at her throat. The creature snarled as it lunged towards her. Sloane saw no other choice but to run deeper into the forest.

'Oh, God', she repeated through her legs pushed her further and further into the forest. It was then that she tripped on her own feet slamming forcefully to the ground. Her luck had ran out. She looked around doubting that Rick or Daryl would come to her aid.

The creature jumped at her and lashed onto her shoe opening it's ugly mug wide so that it could feed. With her ragged breathing she kicked its head several times, crawling back, creating a distance between them. Feeling her body down in an attempt to find a weapon she suddenly felt a pair of scissors in her pocket. The creature stood up once again, she bounced to her feet and with a shaky hand held the petty weapon up.  
She was looking at the creature's neck.

 _'It's gotta be the head!'_ Daryl's voice echoed her head. She summed all the courage in her and jabbed the scissors in the walker's head; it collapsed dying.

She immediately melted next to the walker sitting on her bum, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. She looked at the fresh blood in the walker's mouth and chest. Snapping her hands to her feet she noticed that she hadn't been either bit or scratched then- _this walker had just had a fresh meal._

"Sophia!" Rick's voice suddenly echoed in the distance.  
"Rick!" She called as she sprinted in his direction leaving the scissors behind.  
"Rick!" She said until she finally stumbled in his path.  
"Where's Sophia?" he immediately asked his breathing ragged and eyes wild, darting around the woods.  
"I don't know. I've been running for a while. H-Have you seen her?" she asked still trying to appease her nerves from the adrenaline.

Rick had lost Sophia. He claimed that he had last seen her and told her to run back to the highway. Somehow she had gotten lost in the way.

"Rick, I don't want to alarm you or anything, but- I just took down a walker. It had fresh blood in its mouth."

He turned to face her fearful look. Both of her eyebrows were turned up in concern her mouth agape. It was one of the first times that Rick actually saw the expression of fear on the woman's face. She had put two and two together, assuming that Sophia had become walker chow.

* * *

Sophia was lost.

The others had decided to continue looking for the girl. Having a German Shepherd in the group definitely came in handy. They took the doc into the forest so that it could sniff out the girl.  
Sloane had lost all faith they would find her. Out of personal conflict and interest she had decided not to use the situation to manipulate the group.

As much as Sloane hated to admit it she wasn't one that believed in just "sudden coincidences." It wasn't a coincidence that, that walker had fresh blood on its mouth. The odds of the creature having snacked on some critter before sniffing out the doctor were very slim. It had obviously gnawed on the innocent girl.

This situation hit too close to home so she retreated to the camp to console the desolate mother. Seeing Carol and the way she violently sobbed... She saw herself in her eyes. Lori wouldn't allow her to get too close to Carol.  
However, Lori wouldn't allow her to come near anyone.  
Once again she found herself burying one of her finger nails into the palm of her hand in an attempt to contain her wild emotions.

That same day T-Dog had been injured. Dr. Jenner had been the one taking care of his injuries and he said that if the cut was not taken care of it would most likely become infected. The sun had now set and there was still no trace of Sophia. The doctor retreated to the RV in defeat and greeted Jaqui who was cleaning up the walker mess that Andrea had left inside of the Winnebago.

"I got you a shirt," the doctor called sadly tossing the shirt over her head to Jaqui who actually cracked the smallest of smiles.

 **Day 67:**

 **[Location: Abandoned Highway]**

The following day the group continued looking in the forest. Daryl lead the way with his crossbow. Rick, Lori and Shane behind him with armed rifles amongst others.  
It was very unusual to the group, but the doctor had decided to stay behind and to sulk in her melancholy.  
She remained behind with Carol, T-Dog, Edwin, Dale and Jaqui. The rest were all out searching.

Carol continued sobbing uncontrollably. Dale was trying to comfort her sharing old stories about his deceased wife and the children he never had. Clearly it was not working.

"Hey, can I take a break from keeping watch?" She said casually in an attempt to get him out of the RV. He gave her an un-amused look and made his way out.  
Edwin watching with interest from the other side of the RV. Jaqui was currently outside with T-Dog in order to get some space from the crowded RV.

"Carol," she began. The silver haired woman looked at her surprised. She was taken back by her gentle tone.  
"Presently, I might not be of much help. I just want you to know that you are not alone and if you ever need to talk to someone. I understand the pain that you are going through."

Carol gently reached for the other woman's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. There was something genuine in her eyes, she was telling the truth. Not wanting to pry, she didn't pursue in asking any more questions of the doctor.

Jenner pretended to be per-occupied flipping the pages of some book, but his eyes darted to the two women in the back of the RV. It was true. She was telling the truth.

It wasn't long before the search party returned. To the dismay of the RV group the search had been a failure and the the group had returned without Sophia, Lori wasn't with them either. Neither was Rick.  
Dale wasted no time in bombarding the search party with questions. He had been quiet for so long, it was time for the old man to run his mouth.

"Did you find her?" Jaqui inquired.

They explained that Carl had been accidentally shot by a man named Otis who intended to shoot a deer that had been near Carl (Thank about bad timing.)  
Apparently, a woman named Maggie came riding in a horse saying she came from a nearby farmhouse and claimed her father was a veterinarian who wanted to make amends right and save Carl.

"We have to go to the farm," said Glenn looking at the group with concerned eyes.  
"I won't do it. We can't just leave," Carol began looking at the group with both of her eyebrows arched. Her eyes instantly began to water again.

"Carol, the group is split, cared and weak." Dale began.  
"What if she comes back? Scared and weak and we are gone… I mean, it could happen." The concerned mother added.  
"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful," Andrea continued stirring the pot.

Sloane was completely 100% against this. She knew that little girl was dead. Daryl suddenly noticed that the usually opinionated doctor was unusually silent. A solemn look haunted her gaze.

"f you guys want to get going, I'll stay," she said suddenly turning all eyes to her.

Dale looked at her in surprise, Edwin also looked concerned.

"I-…" the doctor began, "If she comes back weak, I can always heal her." she explained.  
"Oh, Doctor… that is so kind." Carol said wiping some lost tears.  
"Yeah, and I'll go with the rest of the group. That way you are not "Doctor-less"" Jenner said stepping forward.  
"Okay," Daryl began, snapping out of his train of thought.  
"We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us time to make a big sign, get some supplies together for her. I'll stay in the RV," he explained taking the role of leader in Rick's absence.  
"RV stays I stay." Dale said soon after.  
"Thank you, thank you all," Carol said gratefully.

Something about this scenario made Sloane's stomach churn.  
Why couldn't these people look up to her like they looked up to Daryl and Rick?  
In her frustration she clenched both of her fist together tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"I'm in," Andrea added carefully Sloane turned her eyes to glare at her.

Andrea served no absolute purpose in the RV, why the hell did she have to stay?

"Well if all of you are staying, then. I guess I'll stay too." Glenn said shrugging.

"No, you have to go. Take Carol's Cheeroke." Dale butted.  
"Me? Why me?" he said getting all defensive.  
"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people," Dale explained.  
"You can take Jaqui and Jenner with you as well. So you won't go alone. You have to see what's going on in the farm."

Sloane knew that if Jaqui left that would only mean that Kaiser would go with her, it seemed like she had gown fond of the animal always caressing and touching it seeking comfort in it.  
Still not breaking eye contact with Andrea I kept my eyes fixed on her, "I think it's best if you leave too. In case something happens, you know?" she said not blinking.  
"Most importantly," Sloane added. "You have to take T-Dog, he has an infection. I gave him some painkillers, but he needs proper rest."  
 _'And if he dies here we are all screwed because he will turn and kill us all.'_ But she simply couldn't add that part.

As she concluded she noticed that Daryl had his eyes fixed on her. She hated his misty eyes, it seemed like they could pierce into her soul. Their eyes met for a second and she remembered the events that transpired the previous morning.

 _Suddenly, she found herself transfixed in a flashback. She still clearly remembered what had happened that fateful morning._

 _She was still in a deep slumber when she felt the sofa jump. Her eyes snapped wide open and she could feel her throbbing headache beginning to hammer in her head. She lazily reached for my head and the sofa moved again._  
 _'Wait-' she froze. She rolled her eyes looking down and saw that her head was on someone's shoulder. Her eyes trailed down to look at the body that was beneath her. The man who was beneath him had his eyes wide as he tried to stiffly lay down. Daryl awkwardly coughed._

 _Daryl simply put his hand on top of my head for a minute. I didn't even want to see his expression I imagine he was just as freaked out as me._

 _If she had known the consequences the words she was about to utter would have she would have not even dared say those two simple words._

 _"Oh shit..." she said not moving._

 _Suddenly he bolted off tossing her off her. And in that instant he was stumbling off the sofa._

 _"Daryl, what the hell?!" she said still holding on to her aching head._  
 _"Why did you say shit?" He turned to look at me with a pained expression._

 _She blinked twice confused._  
 _"Because my head is killing me?" she said looking at him with an incredulous expression._  
 _"Yeah-right!" He exclaimed becoming more agitated._  
 _"This," he said pointing between them "Is not happening." He stated._  
 _"What? What are you talking about," It was way to early for this, and she was still intoxicated, my brain could not process what was happening._

 _"This!" he said raising his voice. "You and I are not in a relationship. We will not start cuddling, and sleeping together, and then talking about our feelings or doing any of that other fag stuff understood? This ends here!" He said drawing the line, his face red in rage._

 _"Woah-" she said sitting up on her knees so that she was at his eye level._

 _"First of all- no one speaks to me like that ever. I'm speaking to you with respect and I expect the same treatment from you. Secondly, for God's sake, you're acting as if we fucked or something. And third- O.K. we shared an intimate moment, so what? Daryl, it's O.K."_  
 _"Quit sayin' it's "O.K."" he grumbled. "It's not. In real life this would never happen. I'm not going to be pawn you use and then toss away when you're done with."_

 _She stood up and approached him, with a determined gaze sneaking past him so that she could block the door._  
 _"O.K. Now you're being ridiculous" she began, realizing that she was still very intoxicated from last night._  
 _(Sloane Note: One of my drunk habits is that I say "O.K. a lot)_

 _Perhaps, he was right. Maybe in another life we they would have never met. They would've never been in this situation, but this was real life now and everything had changed._

 _"Quit saying O.K.-" he said exasperated as he stood in front of her._  
 _"I don't know if you've realized but 'this is real life-" he interrupted._  
 _"Move Sloane, I just want to get outta-" I interrupted him._  
 _"How's that for a reality check?" she said removing her lips from his._

* * *

Later that night Daryl lay wide awake in the floor of the RV.

The stroking heat made it almost impossible to get comfortable.  
Carol's constant sobbing and Andrea (who had decided to stay) playing with her guns at this hour made the atmosphere feel thick and claustrophobic.  
Feeling overwhelmed he decided to step out. With his crossbow over his head, he asked Andrea for his clip back and stepped outside with a flashlight.

"I'm goanna go for a walk, see if she's out there. Give her something to look at," Daryl quickly explained to Dale, who was keeping night watch. He ventured into the forest as soon as possible before Dale initiated a conversation. Any excuse would do.

It was in times like this that he wondered were his brother was... Who Merle was with and if he was alive. The bastard had to be alive right? He was as tough as nails as Sloane had put it and speaking off- where was that woman? He realized that she hadn't been in the RV...

She wasn't in the RV, he remembered that… He briefly looked around the cars to see if she was around but amiss she wasn't. He was far enough that Dale wouldn't hear him if he called to him. Against his best judgement he stepped into the Georgia woods.

He walked a couple of years before he saw a dim blink of light an instantly felt relived knowing were the doctor was.

"Daryl?" She asked confused an edge of nervousness coated her voice.  
"What are you doing?" He asked just as confused.  
"Looking for a twelve year old girl? What else would I be doing in the middle of the night in the midst of these woods?" she said sarcastically.  
"You don't know how to 'fend yourself. A walker could've bit ya," Daryl said approaching her awkwardly.  
"I mean, I've killed several walkers," she explained.  
"Oh, yeah? How many?" He challenged.  
"Well, I squished one when I knocked a steel shelve over it,"  
He flashed her a confused look. "Long story. I also ran over several of them."  
"So- in conclusion you have killed zero. How can you- Why do you do that? Just venture into the forest defenseless like that." He said stopping in his tracks.  
"That's because I know you'll always be there so save me," she said jokingly laughing. "I'm kidding."  
She said when she realized he didn't think her joke was funny.  
"-And I have killed one. Yesterday actually with my scissors."

She noticed that he was still standing next to her wearing a serious expression on his face. She felt uncomfortable under his judging gaze.  
Why did he have to make things so awkward?

Hesitantly he spoke as they continued walking.

"You have that look on your face…" He said observantly.  
"We just started looking, you know? She's out there." He said stretching out a hand to the dark forest before them.

Sloane felt her stomach church again. That girl was a walker. Even Daryl was doing his best and had the most faith that they would find this child. She almost dared propose leaving the group, finding Merle and running away to South Carolina.

"Y-You're a good man Daryl," was all she said placing a hand on his arm before walking away from him to hide her red face.

"This ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia." Daryl called throttling after her. "My best bet is that she is holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost all the time, they get found," he explained delicately.

"Daryl, that walker I killed yesterday. It had fresh blood in its mouth. It had just either had a fresh meal or bit into someone."

Sloane didn't want to look at him.

"Have some faith. If you don't believe me. I was even younger than her and I got lost. I was in the woods for nine days eating berries wiping my ass with poison oak."

She fought back a smile, so Merle's story was true then.

"Did Merle find you then?" she asked with a small smile.  
"Nah, Merle was doing another stint in juvie. And my old man was off on a bender with some waitress, didn't even know I was gone," he replied a little more quietly.

"Oh," was all she could manage. The brief image of a lost child wandering thought the woods came up to her mind. She shrugged the haunting image out of her head.

"I made my way back, went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched. It was something awful," Sloane once again laughed.  
"What?" He looked at her with curious eyes.  
"Sorry, it's an awful story." She said still laughing.  
"You have such a twisted sense of humor," he said laughing as well shaking his head.

"The only difference between Sophia and my old self, is that she actually has people looking for her. I call that an advantage."

 _Sloane flashbacked to one time when she got lost on the beach. Her mother had fainted because she thought the worst that she had drowned. The police came, and helicopters came. In the end they found her wondering off about 5 miles away. She decided best not to share that story._

"I like spending time with you Daryl," she suddenly blurted.  
 _'Wait, what the hell did I just say?'_ she said to herself mentally cringing.  
That familiar feeling of her ears burning and her stomach churning.

He stopped on his paced and turned to look at her. It wasn't every day that people a woman said that to him.  
Hell! People did everything to avoid them. He had to keep his cool.

"Is this another of your mind manipulation games?" He said scoffing.

Instantly building an emotional barrier between them.

"What?" She called out confused, turning away in an attempt to hide her crimson face.  
"You're not foolin' me girl, I see the way you talk and act with the others. I ain't as stupid as my brother," he said shaking his head. She sighed annoyed.

"Daryl are you not looking at my face?" She said flashing her light directly towards her blushing face, it turned even a brighter shade of red due to embarrassment.

"I mean it," she said softly before stalking in front of him.  
Once again he stepped after her.

"Do you think we would be having this conversation in real life?" He asked grabbing her arm pulling her to a halt. Sloane wondered why he was so self-conscious about what he considered to be _"real life."_

"This is real life Daryl," she retorted turning to look at him.  
"No.. I mean, before the world went to shit,"  
"Maybe," she answered after pondering on the thought. "I mean, you never know."

"Ha!" Daryl scoffed. "Yeah right, you, a fancy doctor. Me, a hick, if we had met it would've been kind of like a porno 'Hey doc I'm not feeling well-'"  
"DARYL!" Sloane hissed feeling her face turning even brighter shade of crimson. She was suddenly thankful for the darkness and was glad he wouldn't be able to see her tomato red face. Her nervous laughter echoed the forest.

"I doubt it. I'm an Immunologist. I specialize in curing unknown diseases. So, unless you turned started a plague we probably wouldn't have met like that. Maybe if my car broke down and you helped me get back on the road?" She suggested.  
"Like a porno," he coughed.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Or you found me in a forest, lost,"  
"Like a porno," he coughed again.

"Or if you were one of my students?"  
"Like a-"

Sloane rolled her eyes and shoved him away, shaking her head as she did.

"Gross," she uttered. "I can tell there's been _a lot_ on your mind lately."

A dark chuckle shamelessly escaped his lips.  
It was then that they heard a shuffle. Instantly they both grew dead quiet. It could be a walker, an animal, maybe even Sophia?  
They both made eye contact. Daryl raised his cross bow and stepped forward leading the way in the darkness.

"What the fuck," he suddenly said confused.

They both suddenly encountered an undead walker hanging from a tree. There was a plank nailed to a tree.

 _'Got bit  
Fever hit  
World gone to shit  
Might as well quit'_

The walker struggled and chomped down at he air in front of Daryl and Sloane.  
The grisly poem made goose bumps crawl on Sloane's arms.

"Dumbass, didn't know he had to shoot himself in the head. He- what did Jenner call it, "opted-out"? Turned himself into a dangling walker bait and a mess."

Sloane said nothing just observed the walker carefully making medical notes and observations about the undead. 1. They didn't need to breath. That was note number one. That meant that there was a possibility that they could survive underwater. Note number 2 is that, despite not having any legs they were still able to function. They have no nerve endings and somehow can properly function.

"I still can't believe you talked 'em out of "opting out,"  
"I didn't do anything," she said shaking my head.  
"To be honest, I don't care enough if they opted out or not. I just told them what I thought." She explained.  
"I think that's what saved them," Daryl nodded.

Again, there was an awkward silence. So much tension seem to always be surrounding the two of them. The only sound between them as the walkers gnawing and struggling.

"Daryl, do you think that I'm-" she began.  
"No, never mind," she said uncertain and walking away from the Daryl and the walker.  
"What?" Daryl asked uncertainty often annoyed him.  
"What did you mean when you said I 'wasn't human,'" she asked with a concerned look in her face.

Daryl was a little taken back, he remembered very few things from that drunken night they spent together.

"Nothin'," he said briefly. "You don't think like a normal person, or act like one either."  
"Because I'm completely de attached to my emotions, right?"  
"But that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Sloane looked at him with appreciation was it?

When suddenly the walker that was hanging about them fell.

"AHHHH!" A scream escaped Sloane's mouth as she stumbled back to the ground.  
The walker stood up. Rope still around it's neck. It stretched out his claw to reach for her.

"Motherless bastard," Daryl said smugly simply grabbing it from behind the neck and quickly stabbing it. Sloane still had a breath caught in her throat. She was too shocked to even react.

"You alright?" He said casually looking down at her flashlight still in his hand. 

* * *

Daryl wondered what was going through Sloane's mind.  
Ever since the walker came down she had been almost mute on the away back. Not uttering a single word or any smartass comment. Once they got to the RV she told Dale she'd take watch while everyone else slept.


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 68:**

 **Location: [Greene Farm]**

The group left some food rations for Sophia in the abandoned highway and they made ways to the Greene farm the following day.

Since Carl had been shot he had undergone a long surgery and had a rifle bullet removed. Kid almost died.

"Thank God the rest of you are here," Lori cried out as the group reached the farm.  
"We are still in surgery. Carl is loosing a lot of blood and I don't know how much more Rick can give him. Anyone in the group A+?" she pleaded with a twisted expression of concern her eyes tearing.

"I'm AB+?" Andrea piped.

 _'That comment was absolutely useless,'_ the doctor thought rolling her eyes. Why would you even open your mouth? She shot daggers in her direction.

"I'm O-" the doctor said reluctantly. She knew that now she would be bound to be the group's national donor.

"Hook me up."

* * *

The group parked their vehicles and set up a camp on the Greene property, that's when they were introduced to the members of this family. They came at a bad time because they were having a funeral procession for Otis, who was their ranch hand. According to Shane they had gone out to get supplies for Carl and he had sacrificed himself so that Shane could get away.  
Something about his story or the way he told it just didn't sit right... Specially coming from Shane who had decided to completely shave his head.  
People tent to cut their hair on random occasions. However, when it is a drastic change, a break-up, a death, a traumatic event, they usually do what Shane just did.

"Nice haircut," Sloane said stalking by his side ready to press his buttons.  
"Bite me," Shane shook his head stomping away from the woman.  
"Maybe when I'm dead!" She shouted after him.

It was then that Sloane was formally introduced to Maggie, Beth, Jimmy, Patricia and Herschel. She had met them with making the blood transfusion earlier but it had just been a brief medical questionnaire.

They all seemed O.K. to her. She didn't' make an attempt to be polite or anything. She hoped she wouldn't have to be in this farm for a long time. It was then that Jenner approached her with his arms crossed an annoyed expression on his face.

"So, what's your verdict?" She asked looking at him from the corner of her eye.  
"They seem like a nice family," he said shrugging.  
"Have they been treating you alright?" Sloane asked looking back at the Quarry Survivors.  
"I don't expect them to welcome me with open arms, especially after I almost killed them all. Jaqui seems, well, depressed. She's been takin' care of T-Dog and your dog while Glenn makes goo-goo eyes at the farmer's daughter," he said with a smirk.

Sloane only nodded. "Also- you said you were going to cure this thing, but I don't see you working. You don't even have a lab," Jenner began pressing. The doctor began to feel the burden of her words and her responsibility stressing her nerves into knots.  
"I hope I didn't make the wrong choice in following you to the end of the world."

She turned to look at him with her sharp eyes.  
"Trust me. I have a plan," She exhaled.  
"Of course you do," he said rolling his eyes.  
Growing annoyed with the man she walked inside of the Greene house. Which was ironically white. (lol)

Inside they were organizing a search party to find Sophia. This only made Sloane's nerves irk. She was so done with this fucking search. She knew that little girl was dead. The only effect that proposing this search would have is that it would relieve Carol's lonely soul.

The group was looking at a map with all the acres in the area. Sloane observed the nearby territory surrounding the farm. They were currently south of Atlanta, she noted that the University of West Georgia was nearby amongst other facilities.  
Maggie, who Sloane was starting to like, said she would take a horse and they would split the terrain. Rick was exhausted from the blood loss and Shane was injured. So Daryl volunteered to go alone.

"I'll go with you. It's safer," she said quickly before leaving the room.  
"Kaiser will come with us too," she called over her shoulder stretching her fingers scratching the back of the dog's head.

Daryl went to back to get his crossbow and Sloane went to look for Edwin who had become the person she talked to the most, her intellectual partner. Jenner was a doctor as well. He understood death, he knew and respected how easily life could be taken away from someone. Life wasn't something he cherished and worshiped like the others. He understood that adapting was necessary in order to survive.

"You have that look on your face," he commented sitting under the shade of a tree cleaning a rifle he had found while scavenging in the packed road.  
"It's nothing," she said shrugging off his comment.  
"So what's the plan? How are you manipulating this situation?"

"I-I can't," she suddenly said. "It's become _persona_ l," she said looking up wanting to end the conversation.

"I thought you said you had a plan," Jenner said loking at her skeptically.

She remained silent.

"Is it Dixon?" Jenner said observing he was approaching them. "You two seem… close?" he asked carefully.  
"He's an ally," she said shortly not wanting to discuss the topic much further. Turning so her blushing face wouldn't give her emotions away.

"No, but like- _really_ close." Jenner pressed. Sloane looked at him blankly.  
"I mean it seems like you're the only person he talks to-" Sloane didn't like were this was going.  
"He's the smartest person in this camp. If you want to survive I advice you get close to him," She whispered quickly before he reached them. He looked at her confused. _She_ was the smartest person in camp.

"Are you using him as well?" He suddenly asked.  
"I can't…" she said in a weak tone looking down.  
He looked at her with his eyes wide. Then she turned to greet the Dixon.  
"Ready?" She said quickly standing up. He only gave her a gruff nod, indicating he was ready.

Both ventured into the wilderness alongside the dog. The shade of the thick trees was more welcoming than the blazing sun. Sloane was grateful that fall was approaching. The dog was attempting to find the trail of the lost little girl.

"You've been quiet for a while," Daryl said noting her obvious mood shift since the little girl had gone lost.  
"What's on yer mind?" he asked.

Sloane looked at him carefully. She didn't know if to trust him with the truth. Would he judge her? What would he think?  
She wasn't sure where to start. She had so much running through her mind now days.  
She was surprised that he had never brought up the fact that they had kissed a couple of days ago. To make matters worse she shamelessly kissed him the morning after that.

"It's just that- this whole search… I think it's kind of pointless. I mean what if something happened to Sophia and she's well…" she was choosing her words carefully in an attempt to appear as human as possible. "What if this _poor_ child is, _gone_." She finally said emphasizing the word gone.

"Have some faith Gadsden," Daryl repeated the same sentence he had said to her yesterday. He helped her climb down from a small formation of rocks. She only shrugged; glad he didn't ask why she was here following him into the woods.

"Wait- then," he said slowly. "If you don't' believe we'll find her. Then why are you here?" He looked at her with mistrusting eyes.

"I guess I just…" She said getting lost in thought attempting to craft the perfect lie. He suddenly let go of her hand. Looking at her with angry eyes.

"I just- I know how it feels," she mumbled weakly.  
"You're taking advantage of the situation. Aren't you?"

"Daryl…" She pleaded. She pleaded for him to understand her.

"You're using her to have edge over the group. Aren't you?" He repeated feeling betrayed.

She remained quiet. It was pointless to argue.

"Do you know what Carol is going through? Having lost a child? You can't be that sick," he said looking at her with hard eyes.  
Suddenly she felt that her face was wet. Tears had unwillingly slipped down her face. He looked down at her and began walking away.

"Actually I do!" She shrieked.  
"You can't just judge me on presumed facts you don't know about me!" Her shouts echoed the vast woods.

Feeling her knees become weak, she slowly slipped down in the middle of the forest into a sobbing mess. Kaiser stood close to her burring his nuzzle into her side in an attempt to comfort its master.

She could hear his footsteps crunching the leaves of the group as he approached her.

"This search is pointless. It's been more than 48 hours. The girl is dead. She's not you. She's never been out there by herself! We are loosing people, ammo and time one this wild goose chase!" She exclaimed. Her dog was whining at her side.

His boots suddenly appeared in her cloudy vision.  
"Go away…" She said weakly. "Go away and leave me alone."

"Tch…" She heard him mumble something under his breath.

"Sloane," he began in his raspy voice. She realized it was one of the rare that he addressed her by her first name and with such gentleness.

"Stand up and quit crying," he said in a cold tone.  
"This isn't you," he said sternly.  
"I already told you once and I do not want to tell you again that this won't be us. This is not me. I don't talk about feelings and I'm not someone you should seek comfort in. So that leaves you with two choices you either suck it up and help me find Sophia or you go back to camp."

She furiously wiped off the hot tears that flooded her eyes. She bounced to her feet regaining her composure. Kaiser barking at her sudden actions.

"Fuck you," she growled out viciously, through her gritted teeth.  
"What?" He said taken back. The scowl on his face deepening.  
"You heard me. Fuck you for judging me. I am _not_ a weapon. I am a human, and I don't know what I have to do to prove myself to you. Whether you want to accept it or not, you and me we are both the same!" She shouted pointing at him with an accusing finger.

He called her name as he trotted towards her.

"Kaiser, _Voraus!_ " she commanded and her hound began barking as she ran back to the farmhouse her breathing ragged

Daryl stood alone in the forest running a hand through his short hair nervously. "G- dammit…" he cursed kicking a nearby rock in defeat. That woman was going to be the death of him…

* * *

That same day Daryl returned to the farm empty handed and alone. Without the girl or his partner.

"Hey Dixon," Jaqui approached him carefully. "Any news on Sophia?"

Daryl only shook his head and uttered a gruff "No."  
"Oh, and Sloane? Have you seen her?" asked Jaqui meekly. _She still wasn't back?  
_  
"She left several hours ago. Said she was coming," he explained casually.

She had to be here. Somewhere.

Daryl already knew that she lacked the common sense and would go into the woods completely unsafe and unprotected.

"What?" Rick said alarmed suddenly approaching him.

This caught Jenner and Shane's attention and they both approached Daryl.

"Daryl. What happened?" Rick began asking for an explanation.  
"Nothing, she just said was going back to camp," he shrugged casually. It wasn't a complete lie.  
"And you let her come back, alone?" Rick retorted his eyes slightly widened.  
"We weren't that far off! How was I supposed to know she would get lost?" Daryl said exasperated shaking his head.

"Great. Now we have a little girl and a doctor missing."  
Shane rolled his eyes and decided this wasn't interesting enough for him and retreated to whatever he was previously doing.

"You just lost the key to actually curing this disease Dixon," Jenner accused with an impish smile, his arms crossed over his chest.

Both Rick and Daryl turned to look at him with eyes wide.

"I'm just joking," he said with a small chuckle.  
"She's inside of the RV with Carol," Jenner chuckled.

The others didn't laugh, keeping their stoic faces on.

"What? It was a joke?" Jenner said shifting his eyes between them. Jaqui actually laughed when she overheard the conversation.  
"Sorry Rick. Sorry Dixon. It gets boring around here," she laughed clapping her hands.

"Don't joke about that again," Rick said shaking his head before leaving.

 **Day 69:**

 **Location: [Greene Farm]**

Sloane sat in the porch of the Greene family biting on her thumb processing the events that had transpired since they had arrived to the farm. Next to her was Jenner with a bored expression.

"Great. Now what?" He said rolling his eyes towards her.  
"Patience Edwin," she said calmly.  
"I swear, if I didn't respect you this much I wouldn't be here."  
"No. You wouldn't. You'd be _dead_!" She said _'dead'_ in a harsher tone.

She rubbed her temples hatching together a new plan to leave the group.

"Why can't we just leave? Just you and me?" Jenner pressed ignoring her previous retort.  
"We wouldn't last a day out in the wilderness by ourselves. We need to have a group and in that group. You are the brains. Daryl is the brawn; Rick is the leader we need people to blindly follow. Others that would be good in the group are Glenn, Dale, T-Dog and I like that Maggie girl. I doubt she'd leave her family. They can all be back ups and help around in sustaining the group. The ones that would only hold us back, and I don't mean to discriminate women or anything, but the ones from this group are just thinking extremely irrationally. Jaqui, Carol, Andrea, Lori, and well Carl would only become dead weight." She sighed.

Jenner looked at her with a raised brow.

"Literally, dead weight," she said with an awful attempt to try and hide her laughter.

Both of them were laughing so hard they did not notice that Daryl had come out of the house and was standing next to them. Looking down at them peculiarly.

"Gadsden," he said in a serious tone attempting to get her attention.

Without even turning to look at him she stood up and stomped away from him.

"Dammit," he said biting the inside of his cheek.  
"Women. Right?" Edwin said with a slight huff.

Daryl ignored him and chased after her.

"Hey! Wait," he said grabbing onto her arm.  
"What?" she snapped glaring daggers at him, pulling her arm back.  
"What-" he began.  
"What-" She repeated interrupting him. " _Now_ you want to talk?"  
"Talking about feelings is kind of- excuse my language- "fag stuff?" And we agreed we weren't going to do that. Remember?" She added with narrowed eyes.

He opened his mouth ready to speak.

"Goodbye Dixon." She said solemnly once again walking away from him.

"It's still early, you going back out there?" Jenner suddenly said standing next to him.

The man did not respond and simply returned to the woods.  
Edwin caught up to Sloane.

"What are you doing?" He asked looking at her with an incredulous look.  
"I thought you said he was the key to surviving? Why aren't you working your _magic_ on him?"

She opened her mouth. However, no sound came out. She simply shook her head.

"Please. Believe me, I'm working on a plan." She pleaded.

Jenner was becoming inpatient. He had to do something about this. He would take matters into his own hands. If he wanted to survive he had to play these characters to the best of his advantage.

"Hey Jaqui, how's it going? Kaiser treating you alright?" Sloane asked walking up to the woman who had grown very close to the German shepherd.

She had decided she was going to try and reinstall herself into the survivor camp. Hence why she was making conversation with the other survivors.

"Oh, he's just wonderful. Reminds me of my old dog." Jaqui said scratching the dog's ears.  
"Yeah, I know. I had a weenie dog in the _real_ world. She was the cutest," she spoke in an attempt to appear relatable to the others.

Sloane helped prepare the dinner with Carol who was in higher spirits and had began helping around the camp. Lori would only glare and keep a wary out looking at Sloane suspiciously every once in a while. That's how she spent her afternoon.

"Hey, Sloane. Thank you, for what you said yesterday." Carol suddenly said.  
"Thank you for trusting me with-"  
"Yes. Don't even mention it," she said briskly ending the conversion before she could babble any of the information she had told her.

 _Meanwhile Daryl found himself collapsed in the muddy ground of the forest. One of his own arrows had stabbed through him. He was certain that the image of Merle standing before him was a hallucination._

"You should listen to Grey's Anatomy. She's the only one with any brain matter in that damn camp," Merle hissed. "This search for this damn little girl is useless. Instead you should be looking for me! Your brother!" Merle shouted kicking some mud at Daryl's face.  
It took every muscle and ounce of will for Daryl to stand up. He wasn't going to die today. Not like this.

Back at the camp Sloane made her way inside of the Greene house.

"Ms. Gadsden?" a male voice caught her attention.  
"Mhn?" She followed the voice and found herself walking into Hershel's private study.

"Yes?" She asked in a careful voice.

She knew she couldn't just bash him and say/do whatever she wanted here. This was his land and he was in control. He sat on his desk reading The Bible, which he slowly closed.

"I hear that you are a very accomplished medic," he began "Saw your picture in the newspaper."

The doctor boasted with a wide smile on her face.

"I'm afraid that I am only a countryside veterinarian. So, I was wondering if you would consider teaching my children your medical skills and share your skills with them. Doctors are very rare to come by now a days." He explained eyeing her curiously.  
"Of course Mr. Greene," she replied with a small smile.

"In fact, I'm preparing a medical journal in case anything were to happen to me, so my knowledge would not go a-waste."

Hershel was about to speak, he opened his mouth but instead the sound of a gunshot echoed the property.

Herschel instantly jumped to his feet. His face twisted into an angry expression, "Darn it, well I thought I said no guns."

He hissed with his teeth clenched picking up a rifle that was near his desk and rushing outside. His clan immediately came rushing outside from different parts of the house.

Sloane thought it was peculiar that there was only one gunshot. If there were walkers there would be chaos unleashing in the farmland _._ She made herself at home in Hershel's study. She walked over to his Bible and opened the last passage he had been reading: _Apocalypse._

"Fitting," she mused to herself standing up and looking at the books on his bookshelves. There was one that caught her attention: _The Case of the Missing Man.  
_  
It was then that she heard the door open, "Oh, Patricia," she said walking towards the main entrance. "I was wond-"  
"Towels, sheets!" She said rushing past her.

"What?" She opened her mouth confused.

"Bring him into the bedroom, now. Get the doctors-" Hershel opened the door wide a look of panic on his features.  
"Hershel what-"  
In that moment Rick and Shane came in sprinting carrying a corpse. The body was covered in blood, soot and muck.  
Sloane looked at the body. Her eyes went wide and her heart dropped. it was Daryl!

"He's lost a lot of blood!" said Shane.

He was unconscious. She stood there frozen in shock.  
Was he- was he dead? His skin was pale and colorless and he wasn't moving.

"Gadsden!" She heard Hershel call. She followed him into the bedroom where Carl had once been.  
They laid him on the bed where his head simply bobbed to the side. Hershel already had the medical kit ready.  
"What happened?" She hissed as she inspected the body.  
"He stumbled in like this. Thought he was a walker so Andrea shot him."

Sloane froze. Her shaking hands turned into clenched balls of fury. _'That stupid bitch!'_ a dark voice inside of her screeched.

She wasted no time in removing Daryl's shirt he had a deep perforation on his side. And the side of the head was rapidly bleeding out. She grabbed his head in her hands and analyzed the head wound it was but a lucky brush.

"He's loosing a lot of blood," Hershel said in urgency rushing for the blood transfusion kit. "But we don't know what type of blood he is-" Rick said trailing off.  
"Do me," Sloane said automatically tossing her lab coat to the side.

"I'm O-, the international donor right?"

Both Rick and Hershel looked at her surprised.  
"What? Surely you can't be serious." Rick said not believing this woman.  
"I am serious, and don't call me Shirley."

A new voice interrupted as Jenner stepped into the room. Sloane fought back the urge to smile despite the surrounding chaos, "I like that movie," she said shaking her head.

"The head injury doesn't look too serious. However, it does seem like the arrow did indeed perforate an artery, " Edwin said washing his hands ready to assist the doctor in her surgery.  
"It was a vein." The Gadsden corrected.  
"It wasn't a circulatory collapse due to an aortic rupture. He'd be dead by now. I'm assuming he made it all the way to the camp before being shot by Andrea and collapsing."

Hershel began setting up the blood transfusion injecting the needle into her arm. She winced at the sting and regardless of the pain continued working.  
"He is loosing a lot of blood, but thankfully it's not too serious." Jenner commented.  
"It will be, if we don't take care of it." Gadsden replied as she began cleaning the wounds, Jenner at her side assisting her. Hershel helped her cover other wounds in his body. He watched closely how she cleaned and stitched the wounds carefully hoping to pick up a new skill or two.

As she was working stitching him, she couldn't help but notice the numerous amount of cuts and bruises that coated his body; many of them deep and sealed ages ago. She wondered for a moment just what type of life Daryl had had.

"How noble of you," Jenner said with a small grin as the blood began flowing to the man's body.  
"I'm just doing my duty," she said rolling her eyes at him.  
"I-I don't know if I should be impressed or worried," Rick said uneasily. Watching her work and donate her blood at the same time. It was impressive.

"Sloane, you gave a lot of blood to my son the other day. You really shouldn't."  
"Tell me Rick. Is there another alternative?" she said wincing as the needle wiggled inside of her vein.

She was almost done, she explained to the group that the stitching she was doing was a "continuous stitch."  
"And I will be reinforcing it with a… retention stitch," she said as her vision began to blur.

After about an hour or so of surgery he was finally sealed up and the bleeding had ceased. The doctor looked down at her bloodied hands, which were stained with his life. She took in a deep breath feeling her knees weakening she stumbled to the bed for support.

"Sloane. This is enough!" Rick finally snapped.  
"Fine…Fine…" She mumbled and Hershel carefully removed the cataract from her and his body.

The surgery was finally over and it had been a success. She carefully stood next to the bed. She was weak and her body was wobbling from side to side. Rick looked at the female doctor's pale expression.

"Doctor, how do you feel?"

Sloane's vision became dark and spotty; she didn't even realize when she passed out.

A few hours later Daryl woke up. He instantly sat up and flinched at the aching pain in his abdomen. He noticed he was covered in bandages and that his torso and head were killing him.

"Don't move," Hershel said carefully.  
"You lost a lot of blood," he began.

Daryl felt as if he was seeing two of everything. Now that he was conscious Rick asked him what had happened. He explained how he was getting closer to finding _her._ Today he had found Sophia's doll by the river, and the horse he had been riding got spooked and had tossed him off a cliff where he fell on one of his arrows.

Talk about luck, huh?

Hershel and Rick stepped out of the room the other doctor had been put to rest in a nearby sofa. Jenner remained in the room.  
Rick began to argue with Shane.

"As I see it-" She heard Shane speak, "Daryl almost died for a doll today."

This wild goose chase had to stop. It had caused both the Quarry Group and Herschel way too many casualties.  
Edwin realized that he was alone with the Dixon. If he wanted to manipulate the situation he had to play his cards right.

"You got real lucky Dixon," Jenner began in a friendly tone.  
"If you hadn't been here on time you would have probably died of hypovolemic shock. Or- exsanguination in simpler terms."  
"Luck?" Daryl scoffed feeling exhausted.  
"I fell off a horse into a ditch where I became stabbed with my own arrow. I get to camp and I'm welcomed with a bullet to the head."  
"Yes," Jenner agreed. "Dr. Gadsden stitched and cleaned you up. She also donated a good amount of blood at the same time. It was truly remarkable."  
"Why?" He retorted confused.

He was nobody, why would she even bother?

"We don't know what your blood type is. She's an O- or the national donor so she willingly did it. She gave so much, passed out on Rick. She's been out longer than you." Jenner said raising his eyebrows signaling to the woman that was passed out in the old sofa that was in the same room.

Daryl turned and looked at her pale face and at the blood that stained her hands and arms up to her elbows.  
His stomach churned uneasily, he wasn't sure of what to feel. The last he had known she didn't want to see any of his ass around. He was shocked at the fact that she had actually risked her life to save his. It sounded very unlike her.  
He felt a sense of guilt wash over him.

A couple of moments later he turned on his side and returned to sleep. He jolted awake when he heard a large thud as if a large object fell on the wooden floor. He instantly jolted away flinching into a defensive position ready to kill whatever had awakened him. The sudden movement gave him a stabbing sensation on the side. He cursed and reached to hold his wound.

Groaning could be heard from the other side of the room and he suddenly saw the doctor laying facedown on the wooden floor.

"Gadsden?" He called sitting up.  
"I'm.. O.K." She mumbled getting on all fours and finally standing up. "I'm just a little weak," she uttered rubbing her head as she made way to his bed.

She lifted one knee and sat on the edge of the bed leaning on it.

"I think what I hate the most about this life is that I always find myself covered in some soiling secretion," she said looking down at her arms.

"You risked your life for mine," Daryl said looking at her carefully.  
"You shouldn't move too much or your stitches will tear and you will be at risk of infection. Understood?" She explained changing the conversation smoothly.  
"Why?" He pressed, lifting one of his hands and placing it on her face, his thumb stroking the edge of the dry scar that decorated her cheek.

"I would've done it for anyone," she said leaning on his hand. Feeling absolutely exhausted.  
"No ya wouldn't," he slowly leaned in and she sat still wondering what he was going to do. He gently pressed his lips on top of her head. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down to lay down with him. She felt her heart hammering in her chest and her face burning. She felt so lightheaded.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly said. ' _For being such an ass?_ ' she thought with slight amusement letting some air out of her nostrils in a huff.

"You're forgiven," she said sighing looking down as she pulled her feet up to the bed.

"I want you to know that I'm not the man you think I am," he confessed. His eyes trailed her face in an attempt to see any signs of hurt in her expression.

"Daryl."  
" _'I've always felt that the perception you have of yourself is an inadequate one,"_ was what she felt like saying instead she simply patted his arm with the little energy she had "You're great."  
"I really am sorry for what happened in the woods."  
"If we are being honest right now, there is something you should know," she said sitting up.  
"What happened in the woods…" She began taking in a deep breath. He saw her eyes begin to water and he sat up leaning on his elbows.

"I was married in another life, and I had a daughter." The tears began to spill.  
"Her name was Lucy," she said wiping her tears with the back of her arm accidentally smearing the dried blood on her face.  
"She was eaten by a tribe of Amazonian cannibals."

 _'Wait. What the fuck?'_

He turned to look at her with wide eyes. 'Was she kidding? Did he hear right?' Her crying expression and twisted frown was proof that she wasn't.

"What?" he said blinking twice in the most humane tone he could muster.

"It's a long story… I was living in the Amazonian jungle with my ex-husband, who was an anthropologist. He was doing research on some un-contacted, uncivilized tribe and one day while I was in the nearby village working on the Zika case- I left Lucy with Ted and…" she stopped speaking and looked at her blood covered hands and face.  
"Ah, I've made such a mess…" she said standing up mumbling a quiet "I'll be back."

Daryl still sat in the bed unsure if she was being honest.  
Once she closed the door and she was gone- Daryl felt like he could finally breath. He exhaled and ran a hand though his hair. Part of him wanted to believe that she had been lying to him. However, the pain that was reflected in her eyes and the anguish in her face proved otherwise.

She stumbled to the hallway where she ran into Patricia. Who helped her to the restroom and in cleaning the blood off her face and arms.

"What happened darlin'?" She asked kindly.  
"I was just reminiscing on old memories," she said sadly.

* * *

Later in the afternoon Sloane suddenly opened her eyes and she found herself half asleep sitting up on the bed. The room was spinning, and from outside the window she could see the orange gleam of the sun setting in the farmland.

She looked at Daryl who was sound asleep next so her and felt at peace knowing that no harm would come to either of them. Still woozy she stood up and approached the window gazing at the beautiful sunset. She didn't realize how long she had been there until she turned and saw his grey eyes burning into her with intensity.

"Don't think I was starring at you- I'm simply more comfortable facing this way," he excused himself turning his head the other way. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand before placing a kiss on top of his head.

"Watch the stitches" he flinched and turned the other way looking away from the woman.  
"I'm going to bring you some lunch," she said with a smile before leaving the room.

She made her way outside where she stumbled upon Andrea and Dale sitting in the porch steps outside of the house. Andrea's face was twisted in a frown of concern and anxiety.

Out of the sudden the doctor felt the wooziness and peace leave her. It was instead replaced with anxiety and fury, which boiled in the pits of the stomach.

"You," Sloane hissed through gritted teeth. If looks could kill…  
"You shouldn't be allowed to even _look_ at a _damn_ gun!" She exclaimed in rage stomping over to the woman.

Andrea jumped to her feet in her defense.

"Do you think it was my intention to hurt him? I didn't know it was him!" She shouted back.

Her jaw was clenched and eyes a blaze, her mind racing.  
When out of the blue the doctor froze. She stood frozen and looked at the blonde before her with wide blazing eyes. Andrea and Dale where shocked when Sloane started laughing. She burst out cackling like a witch her throat laugh echoing the farm.

Dale's eyes glowed in fear.  
Andrea looked at her in shock, lowering her defens  
e.  
"You are-" Andrea didn't manage to finish her sentence. In a flash she was laying facedown on the floor. Gadsden held her clenched fist in her other hand. Dale rushes to her side immediately.

"You make me nauseous," she began. "You almost killed Daryl…" She muttered to herself.  
"And even worse- if that was a walker you still wouldn't have been able to kill it!" she continued laughing cruelly, leaning against the porch pole.

"You're insane!" Andrea shouted, holding her face still with disbelief.

A nasty scowl returned to her face.  
"You've been warned. You too old man-" she sneered at Dale.  
"No offense, but biology and the odds aren't in your favor. If I were you I'd spend my time more wisely than for caring for this ridiculous _twat,"_ she spat out venomously before stalking back to the main campgrounds leaving both Andrea and Dale completely speechless.

As soon as she was gone Andrea instantly ran inside of the house to Daryl's room. She slapped the door open, jolting him awake from his recovery nap.

"Daryl!" She screeched.  
"If this is you apologizing-" He began.  
"I'm sorry." She shouted holding onto her hurt cheek, "I am very, very sorry for shooting you in the head- but more importantly. Stay away from that-that monster!" She shouted.  
"Sloane Gadsden is the real monster! And- I can't understand why she is so fixated on you. Be careful. And _stay away from her!" She shouted._

What had just happened?

Meanwhile outside Sloane approached Rick who was currently engaged in serious conversation with Shane.

"Rick, we have to talk," she began interrupting the conversation. She wobbled as she stood in the middle of the field on the verge of fainting. Her stomach still churning in indignation.

"This madness- the guns, it has to be taken under control!" She exclaimed.  
"That is exactly what we were talking about," Rick said turning to her. She sighed relieved.  
"We start gun training tomorrow," he continued.  
"What?!" she hissed. "But Rick- training times, time, energy, _ammo!_ Where are we supposed the get ammo from?!" she challenged back feeling weaker, it was then that she collapsed falling forward only in time for Shane to catch her.  
"Ah.." She said weakly.  
"I-I think I need some food-something with sugar," she said with her head bobbing to the side.  
"I'll take her back inside for the dinner," Shane said quickly as he squeezed her arm tightly. Sloane flinched her eyes towards him as they began walking back to the house dusk setting around them as they walked.

"How _kind_ of you to offer to walk me Shane," she whispered to him still not taking her eyes off the house. _  
"_ You think I can't see you scheming with that, suicidal doctor, Jenner?"  
"Are we that obvious?" She retorted sarcastically.  
"Neither you Jenner or Dixon are well-liked around the camp. So thread carefully," he warned once again squeezing her arm with his meat hook grip.

As soon as they entered the house Shane plopped Sloane in one of the living room sofas where she rubbed her temples feeling extremely weak. It was then that Jaqui sat next to her and brought her a slice of bread and a glass of water.

"Bless your soul Jaqui," she said as she stuffed her mouthful of the bread and gulped the water to quench her thirst.  
"You look so pale. Are you O.K?" She said pressing a hand to the other woman's forehead. "I'm alright," she breathed.  
"Gave a lot of blood today, I'm just weak," she said leaning her head back towards the couch pillow. Jaqui praised her and patted her hand carefully comforting the weak girl.

"And Kaiser?" she suddenly asked.  
"He's outside, Hershel doesn't want him around the food when we are eating," she explained briefly.

It was only a couple of minutes later that the tables had been set and everyone gathered to have dinner.

Much to her dismay, Sloane was seated next to Lori and she didn't mind sitting next to Edwin. The doctor noted that Lori inched away from her and had a sallow expression and kept on looking down at her empty plate. From the looks of it, it looked like something was bothering her, not that Sloane cared enough she simply ignored her.

"How's the redneck doin'?" he said in a whisper leaning over to the side. "We'll talk later," she hissed back.  
"People think we are up to- no good." She said flatly.  
"So-" she simply kicked him from under the table.

Maggie, Hershel's daughter started serving everyone the food when Carol stood up, "I'm going to take a plate for Daryl, he must be hungry," she said in a considerate manner.  
"Doctor," she said meekly.  
"Please come with me so you can check on him. Please?" She said curtly. With a tight lipped smile Sloane stood up excusing herself from the table, following Carol to the bedroom.

Daryl was awake, the lights in his room were dim and he had his glare focused on the vintage flower pattern on the wall.  
 _'As if it was so interesting,'_ thought Sloane with a smirk.  
Carol approached him and set his dinner on the small table next to his bed.

"Thank you so much," she said kindly.  
"You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did for her in his whole life," Carol said feeling heartfelt reaching for his hand.

He shrugged her hand off his.

"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done," he brushed off the compliment.  
"I know," Carol added.  
"You're every bit as good as them," she finished with a small smile.  
"You can take a look at him now doctor," With that Carol excited the room in a rushed matter.

Daryl noted that Sloane had a sly smirk plastered on her face as she observed the scene before her.  
 _'What the hell are you smirking at?'_ Daryl thought to himself.

"Well," she approached him in a teasing tone.  
"It looks like you've got a fan girl," she said more to herself chuckling.  
"Don't be jealous," he retorted with a hint of humor.

She couldn't help but laugh. She pulled out a statoscope that Herschel kept around.

"How do you feel?" she said sitting next to him in bed. She ran a hand through his short hair ready to clean his head bandages.  
"I'm fine woman. Leave me alone," he grumbled crossing his arms over his chest annoyed. Distancing himself from her.

She sighed. ' _That's Daryl for you… the moment he feels vulnerable he shuts down.'_

"Daryl, I'm not leaving until I'm through with your analysis. You don't have to be afraid of the doctor. "Doctors are your friends"" she chuckling lightly.

"Aren't the people at the table waiting for you? Don't you have to eat?" he said looking around nervously..?

"Nonsense," she replied patching up his head.  
"And yes-I am very hungry, but I will not eat until my I know my _favorite_ patient is doing O.K. So let's start all over- How do you feel?" She asked as patiently as she could.

"I feel fine!" he snapped feeling more and more aggravated by the second.

"Any pain?" She continued asking as she removed the blanket from his chest.

"Yes- my entire damn body!" he complained.

Sloane nodded seriously. She noticed the many scars that were marked all over his body.

"On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is your pain 1 feeling nothing and 10 being-"

"Sloane." He snapped, "I'm fine really." He said through gritted teeth _. 'Jesus H. Christ why was he being so hostile out of the sudden?'_ She did the best she could to ignore his thoughtless behavior.

"I still have to change your bandages," she said slowly removing the bandages from his muscular torso. He avoided eye contact as she did. His stitches remained fine. She noted the way he would attempt to cover himself and this many scars. He was praying that she didn't bring them up.

"I take pride in my stitching, odds of them tearing are slim. Unless you go and do something _stupid_ ," she huffed. _"Which you better not,"_ she warned. _  
_  
He didn't say anything. Just kept his eyes fixed on the wall.  
She continued and felt his pulse, which was a little high for the normal rate.

"Your pulse is a little higher than normal so-" It was then that his hand flinched upward and held her face in her place. Both of his eyebrows were burrowed in emotion and his lips in a straight line. Sloane grabbed his arm tightly pulling her head away.

"Daryl." She warned with hard eyes.  
"I don't know why you are upset and I do not pretend to know-"  
She didn't finish her sentence. She shut her eyes tightly as his hands reached for her face. He smashed his lips against hers interrupting her.

Sloane was speechless.

 _'What? What did this mean? What was he thinking? Why did he kiss me after being so aggressive? Was he playing games with her head?'_ She wondered if she had imagined the entire scene.  
 _'_ Did _this mean they were… a thing?'_ she felt her head spinning. He let her go and she looked at him shocked. Her eyes were darting all over his face seeking for any sign of what emotion he was feeling or a clear explanation. Her breathing was ragged, her heart jumping at her throat. She stepped away cautiously. Her face a bright shade of scarlet.

"Sloane! Sloane!" He said leaning over his bed.

 _Thud!_ She had fainted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Day 79:**

 **Location: [Greene Farm]  
**  
The doctor found herself sitting in a hay stack with her knuckles pressed against her lips in a thoughtful manner.  
Knees were tucked under her body as she sat in a corner of the horse barn behind Hershel's house. It seemed like it was the only place where she could find some privacy. It didn't help that the injured Dixon inside of the house was strangely for less of a better word "needy" and attached to her. She figured he had what psychologist called: **Florence Nightingale Syndrome.**

 **Florence Nightingale Syndrome** is a peculiar, in this particular case undesired situation where a caregiver or patient develops romantic or sexual feelings for their patient or caregiver. It was either that or _Stockholm Syndrome._ She felt it was best to give him space for the next couple of days.

Things were getting really stressful around camp. Shane had threatened her and had been watching her like a hawk. She had been warned that if she did anything suspicious things wouldn't be pretty. Knowing Shane, he could be capable of killing her. Andrea had been keeping tabs on her activities as well and on her relationships, she was basically working as Shane's blonde minion. Dale… Despite Sloane having been the one to move him with her speech at the beginning of the apocalypse as soon as he got to know her and her "Liberal California Ways" he immediately developed a diastase for the doctor. The infatuation he had with Andrea was well _gross…?_  
Sloane wasn't one to judge these type of relationships there had been a huge age-gap between her father and her mother, but for Pete's sake Dale was old enough to be Andrea's grandpa! It was just bizarre when she saw them kissing on top of the RV. She wondered if Amy had ever known about their relationship.  
It also didn't help that Edwin had been pressuring her into escaping without a plan. He insisted they were losing their time sitting like ducks with this group.  
She felt like if she did a wrong move the entire plan would collapse and the sky would fall. Now that ever she had to thread more with precaution. One slip, one mistake, and she would lose the group and the protection and privileges that came with it.

Today, the group was being trained on "Gun handling 101" the lessons were generously hosted by King County's Sheriff Deputy Officers Rick Grimes and Shane Walsh.  
Sloane didn't bother in attending the lesson. She knew how to handle a gun. It was something that her father had taught her from a very young age.

* * *

 _It was her 13_ _th_ _birthday and she was still living at home with her family. Sloane was the younger sibling, and became the son her father never had. Despite her father's wishes to have another male in the household it was just something that God didn't give them. So James Gadsden made the most of his youngest daughter and he raised her like he would've with a son. He took her hunting, taught her how to drink whiskey and how to stand and speak like a gentleman. Her mother completely disapproved of the education he was providing her with and her refined sister was resentful to the lack of attention from her father._

 _It was 6:00 A.M. at the crack of dawn and father and daughter were both sitting inside of the hunting blind on a field._

"Can we go to the malt-shop? I want one of Auggie's 'Supreme Birthday Shakes,'" the young pre-teen yawned rubbing her tired eyes, feeling absolutely drained from the morning trip.

"No," he said turning his green eyes to look at her sternly. "Today you've come of age. It's a tradition for the Gadsden men to come hunting on the dawn of their 13

 _th_ _spring," he said in dramatic fare.  
"Why can't we go hunting for deer or coyote?" the child protested.  
"Because this is more fun," he said with a crooked grin not taking his eyes of the field before him. In the distance flocks of doves could be seen flying in the lavender colored skies._

It wasn't more fun than shooting at deer and hungry coyotes.  
It wasn't even fun at all.

James Gadsden spent the entire day waiting with his daughter until she was able to shoot down a dove. It was already past 5 P.M. the sky had once again changed colors turning a contrasting gold.  
The young girl wailed inconsolably. She was starving, she was cold and her face was soaking wet with hot tears.

She turned to look at him with a frowning face. This had been the worst birthday ever. "Can we go home?" She pleaded.  
"We don't have to get shakes I just want to go home," she cried.

"No. Not until you kill something," he said with hard eyes.  
"And quit yer crying you're scaring all them doves."

Sloane didn't kill anything that day, or the day after, or the day after. Her father became frustrated at the fact that her daughter wasn't able to shoot a single dove. This became his obsession and for the following weeks he pulled her out of school. He quit working. He wouldn't go back and she wouldn't be allowed to go back to school.

On the 16 _th_ _day, she finally killed one._

* * *

Ever since then she never forgot how to wield a weapon.  
Be it a rifle, shotgun, pellet gun, anything. The trauma of her 13th birthday would never allow her to forget how to use it. She never thought the skill might come in handy, until _now._

She would've loved to practice her shot, but she had much more important matters to resolve.

From afar she could see Andrea aiming and shooting the target right in its bull's-eye. This only gave her a bad feeling. If given the situation she wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet between her eyes. After all she had already tried. Glenn had continued sneaking off with the farmer's daughter and they would hold hands when they thought no one was looking and whisper secrets and sweet nothings at each other.

Lori looked- _weird._ The usually active woman wasn't speaking, or eating- Sloane mused that she was probably up to no good as well.  
She felt like she was becoming her mother, suspecting and assuming that everyone held baleful intentions against her.  
She hated that she had become like this.

The _worst_ part was that the search for Sophia continued. That girl was as good as dead.

There was just so much to deal with... and Daryl.

The hallucinations he had been speaking off. She figured hat he had lost his mind. Finding Merle would probably help with his delusions.

It was then that Kaiser ran inside of the horse barn barking and panting in an attempt to get some attention from its master.

"Hey," she greeted her dog which licked her face tackling her with affection.  
"There you are-" to her surprise Jaqui suddenly walked into the horse barn, completely catching Sloane off-guard.  
"Jaqui," she said surprised. "What's up?" she attempted in her most casual tone taking her eyes off the dog.

The woman before her had a small smile on her face, it was the first time in weeks that Sloane actually saw her somewhat "happy," and in a good mood.

"Edwin is looking for you," she said softly.  
"Oh," was all that Sloane said standing up brushing the hay of the old-man-jeans she was wearing. She really didn't wan to see Jenner right now. She wasn't in the mood to listen to him bitching about humanity, science and of course when they would leave the camp.

It took Sloane a moment to realize that the smile that Jaqui wore was actually a sly one, like the one a child who had just gotten away with stealing a candy or kicking a cat would wear.  
She gave her a funny look.

"What?" Jaqui asked as they excited the barn the smile only growing wider.  
"Nothing." Sloane said shiftily really not trying to start a conversation.

She felt her ears beginning to burn and wondered if she or anyone else in camp knew about the peculiar relationship she shared with the Dixon.

"Just, looks like you have something up your sleeve," She said nervously. She knew there were no secrets in this camp. If she knew about everybody's business odds were everybody knew about her business too.  
 _Everything except the fact that they were all infected with the NAV._

"Me? What? No…" Jaqui emitted a nervous laughter.

Sloane gave her a wary look and continued walking, she arched her eyebrows as she did.

"Actually-" the darker woman said grabbing onto Sloane's arm and dragging her back to the horse barn for more privacy.

"This camp is totally like a soap!" She cried out, eyes wide in excitement.  
The doctor cocked her head to the side, attempting to summon her best-confused look. _Damn, she knew. She had to know about her and Daryl._ There was no way that they could just pass under the radar of a dozen of bored people with nothing to do.  
Not that there was anything wrong with it, she just didn't want them sticking their noses were they didn't belong.

"Like a T.V. soap opera!" she clarified.  
"I swear, the things people here _do._ The things you _hear!_ " she said shaking her head.  
"Sloane- can I trust you to keep a secret? You didn't hear it from me," Jaqui began.

So, she didn't know _. Thank God._ She didn't care much for gossip, but it was important to know what everyone in the group was up to. She pretended to show no interest and simply nodded her head.

"You know I would talk to Carol, but she doesn't do a lot of gossip now a days and Andrea…"

The woman continued speaking, but was interrupted.

"Jaqui- the point. Get to point." Sloane almost begged just wanting to be free.  
"Oh well- Today I was at camp minding my own business folding some old, dirty, laundry when suddenly I found a pregnancy test!"

 _'No. Freagin. Way.'_

"What?!" she gasped. "Yes- and it was positive!" Jaqui said shaking her hands nervously.

"Who's is it?!"  
"I don't know." Jaqui shrugged.  
" It has to be someone in the camp, it's not me. Is it _you_?" she asked with her eyes narrowed.

"Um… no?" She said slowly.

"It has got to be either Andrea or Lori, and my money is on Lori. I mean she was sleeping around with Shane and now Rick- or it could be Glenn with the farmer's daughter? Maybe even Andrea and Dale. Do you think Dale can still have children? Who knows," Jaqui said casually.

Both women headed out back to the camp where Sloane met with Edwin. Her dog was good company as they walked.

"You seem- distraught" Jenner noted as she approached his tent stepping inside.  
"I don't want that damn dog inside here, it could have fleas-" he said as he shooed the dog out of his area.

"Shhh!" she hissed raising a finger to her lips as she took a seat next to him. Her face was twisted in anger as her thin lips stretched across her upset face.

"There's something suspicious going on in this camp. Apparently someone is pregnant. Jaqui thinks it's Lori," Sloane began.  
"I mean- how dare she! To put this burden on all of us. I understand that reproduction will be a basic need to survive in the future, and that it's human instinct. However, right now?!" Sloane said tossing her hair back.  
"I can't believe it!" She raged.

She was fuming. Absolutely livid. This was so careless of the couple who was responsible for this. The worst part is that she thought of how they could do that to a child; bring it into this cruel world.

"Well- thank you for keeping me posted, but I do not have time for "baby-mama drama"" Jenner said with air quotations scoffing. He tolled his eyes at her ridiculous rant.  
The woman only hugged her dog closer in an attempt to soothe her growing anger.

"How's _the_ Dixon doing?" Jenner asked as he put away a rifle he had been cleaning. "He-He's fine. I think, I haven't checked on him since the morning," She said flatly trying to avoid the subject.  
"Why haven't you?" he simply questioned. His clear eyes analyzed her expression.

"Well-…" she begun an he noticed how vulnerable she suddenly became with her face growing red giving away her emotions. She began brainstorming, crafting the perfect lie.

"I know," he suddenly said breaking the awkward silence.  
"Know what?" she said coolly.  
"I've known since you got to the CDC. It's obvious," Jenner said in annoyance.  
"What's _obvious?"_ She said defensively. Still beating around the bush.  
" _Pleeeeease,"_ he drawled out tossing his head back.  
"Guy won't take his eyes off of you for a second. It's like he thinks you're just going to disappear or something. And you, blushing like a schoolgirl? How old are you again?"

Her pale complexion gave her away once again. She glared slits at him.

"Fine. So something _is_ happening with us. I don't know what it is, he doesn't know what it is," she shook her head bashfully.

A mischievous grin from ear to ear stretched over Jenner's face.

"Well-Well, what a sight Dr. Sloane Gadsden red as a cherry tomato over a southern hick," he chuckled.  
"Stop!" the woman threatened. "Just quiet. Stop speaking," she said hiding her face in her hands.  
"My apologies, 'Southern gentleman'" Edwin corrected himself.  
"Listen-" she began. "I don't believe in relationships. Or romance or anything related to that for that matter. "Love" as people put is simply adrenaline and hormones released when the body is under the right amount of stress," she explained rolling her eyes.  
"Really?" Edwin raised an eyebrow intrigued.  
So do you believe that if you and I are together under the right circumstances we will develop a sexual/romantic relationship?" He questioned cocking his head to the side.  
"Perhaps," she said shrugging.

Jenner shook his head in disgust. For a brief moment the image of his wife clouded his mind and he mindlessly toyed with the wedding ring that he still wore despite her passing.

To her surprise Jenner spoke to her in an aggressive tone.

"That's bullshit." He growled out. "You say that because you're in denial!" he said raising his voice.

She blinked twice taken back by his response, and moved away from him.

"My, I didn't know you would get so passionate about this discussion Edwin," she said standing up looking at him with an incredulous look. She was ready to leave the tent.  
"Did you not love your husband?" he questioned with his eyes narrowed.

She paused for a brief moment remaining silent.

"Didn't you?" He repeated viciously.  
"We were good for each other. We supported each other and we encouraged each other to grow and progress as individuals. Is that not what couples do? What the modern definition of _Love_ has become?" She looked at him with her lids half closed.

She was about to leave his tent.

"-And Edwin?" She called over her shoulder. "Don't ever meddle in my business, again."

Feeling more than frustrated and annoyed she made way to the farmhouse to check on her patient. She didn't want to see Edwin, Lori, Andrea or anyone else in the group; she had grown sick of consoling Carol or playing Hot Heads with Carl.

She attempted to casually walk into the house pretending as if everything was fine and dandy.

"Good afternoon," she said sneaking the dog behind her.  
"You have a visitor." She said as the dog crowded next to his bed in an attempt to lick his face.  
"Dirty mutt," Daryl said petting the dog.  
"I also brought you a book, must get pretty boring being here my yourself." She put a copy of _The Case of the Missing Man_ on the table next to his bed were his lunch plate was.

Then they made eye contact. His icy eyes with her gold ones. And she looked away avoiding his gaze. _'It's only Biology! Get it together!'_ She mused the courage and turned back to look at him.

"Let's see how your stitches are doing," she said clapping her hands together nervously.

He looked away obviously uncomfortably.  
Without uttering another word he sat up and removed his shirt. The doctor had already come to realize that he was extremely uncomfortable without his shirt. She figured it was because of the scars, marks and other disfigurements that bedecked his figure. If he wasn't willing to tell she wouldn't ask. Just like she had her own secrets she would take to the grave-

A sudden image of a disfigured infected shrieking a blood curling scream flashed into her consciousness.

"Don't tell me you're goanna pass out again, Gadsden?" there was a hint of humor in his voice.

She shook her head snapping out of her brief haze.  
"I-I don't like my scars either," she suddenly babbled.

 _'Oh shit,'_ she was ready to expect a backlash from him. She knew she was in trouble when he turned his head to glare at her.  
Her eyes averted as she thought of any excuse to leave the room.

"Which scars?" he said curiously.  
"This one," she said pointing at the large one that carved one side of her face from her high temple all the way to her cheekbone.  
"It makes me look like a bond villain or something,'" she said shaking her head gradually, her gaze directed downwards.

She suddenly felt the tip of his finger's tracing the way of her scar.

"Don't, that's from the day we met," he said with his intense gaze fixed on her face. Just in cue her face turned pink and she returned to focusing on the wound on his back.

He remembered that day clearly. The day they almost left her for dead. He remembered how engrossed his brother had become with her and with the thought of having her become part of their two-man duo.  
He still didn't understand what it was that Merle saw in her when they first met her when she barfed all over his boots when she woke up in the back of their truck. Maybe he wasn't at that point yet, but he was getting there.  
The first characteristic he noted about her was that she was a born genius, it was obvious; he wouldn't have been surprised if her IQ ranged higher than 160. She was ambitious, brave, and at the same time did some of the poorest decisions _ever._ He wondered if it was because she had a fixation for gambling with her blasted luck. If anyone could find the cure for this madness, it would be her.  
Meanwhile, he was a nobody, he had always been ostracized by society, even rejected by his own parents, called trash and made believe that his principal defining characteristic was that he was absolutely and utterly _worthless._

"Much better, the swelling has gotten down a lot."

He put on his shirt back on, his eyes carefully followed her fingers. They held his head in position as she examined his scalp wound.

"Your head is fine too. I have good news Daryl," She said with her trademark uncomfortable tight-slipped smile.  
"You are finally healed. You can be out and about as of now. Just, like I said be careful and don't tear your stitches!" She warned.

She quickly stood up and made way to the exit of the room. She turned back and saw the perplexed expression on his face. To her it looked like he had something stuck in his throat that he just wanted to exhale. She paused for a brief moment.

 _She liked him._

She hated admitting it to herself, but she wasn't one to deny the obvious facts. She was even giddier than when she had met her ex-husband all those years ago when she was actually a school girl.  
She liked spending time with him, she liked arguing him, she actually found his jokes, she liked how he would always literally drag her away from trouble or made sure she was safe and in one piece. However, most of all she _loved_ his intellect.

Yes, perhaps the man wouldn't know the difference between mitosis and meiosis, but he had what most people that Sloane knew lacked- he had common sense.

Daryl was a simple man. Most, if not all of his life-decisions were acted on his common sense, survival instinct and gut feeling; scientific fact, which is nothing, more than the rush of adrenaline to ones stomach.  
She knew that if she confessed to him that he was smarter than her, he would never in a million years believe her.

"Well-um-er… bye," she waved from far away very much like an awkward teenager. She bumped part of her forehead on the doorframe making matters worse. She wanted the Earth or a walker to just swallow her whole. She practically ran out of the room where she heard him begin to laugh.

He ran his hand over his face still with a grin on his face, he turned to look at Kaiser who was still at his side.

Then he realized that he didn't tell her. His mood immediately shifted.

"Dammit…" he cursed shaking his head.

He shook his head and looked at the book that Sloane had given her. _The Case of the Missing Man,_ and it made him feel nostalgic and like he did almost every day, he wondered were his brother was, or if he was even alive…

Outside of the house Sloane felt her heart racing and her temples hammering.

She cursed everything she knew.

 _'Great. Now I have an emotional attachment to the only person in this camp who can save me…'_ she grumbled to herself. This would only complicate matters if she were to play him like one of her puppets…

"What?" a third voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

She suddenly noticed that T-Dog was standing before her looking at her funny.

She turned to him and shook her head, "Nothing. I was just talking to myself. How are you T-Dog? Can I take a look at your stitches?" she asked with a nervous smile.

"Um, sure?" T-Dog said apprehensively.

He was reluctant to converse with the woman. From what the rest of the group seemed to talk she was _bad news_.  
Andrea would always glare at her and hiss the words "psychotic bitch" under her breath whenever she saw her. Dale's eyes would go wide and he would take a step around her as if she had the plague. Lori would duck her head around her in dread.

Her walk was the one of an individual with authority. She always walked with a rigid back as straight as an arrow, head held high with the dignity and the respect she claimed she deserved. Her gold eyes always fixed forward on her objective. He remembered the way her freckles would gleam in the sun and the way her lips would slightly twitch up when something caught her interest.  
Another person that couldn't stand her was Shane; everything that came out of her mouth seemed to irk him. He didn't know what Glenn thought about her. The only ones that seemed to take a particular liking on the woman were Rick, (but then again he just seemed to like everyone), his son, Carol, Jaqui and Dr. Jenner.  
Oh, and there was also Daryl, but he was just as enigmatic as her.  
 _'That Daryl,'_ T-Dog noticed how his eyes would carefully dart around the room quietly analyzing and observing every single movement in the room never trusting anything or anyone always being wary of his surroundings.

"They are about ready to be removed, do you want me to remove them for you?"

T-Dog nodded.

They both stepped inside of the house where Sloane sat him down and carefully changed his wounds. It was then that she heard a set of familiar footsteps come into the room. She didn't dare look up.  
Daryl noted how she carefully cleaned and removed the stitched from T-Dog's hand. Just like she did with him.

"There all done," she pated his hand and offered him a kind smile.

Daryl patted his leg so the dog would follow him and they both stepped out of the house before Herschel could see the hound.

"There, all done," she said washing her hands in the kitchen faucet.  
"Hey thanks!" T-Dog said looking at his arm.  
"You know you are not all that bad," T-Dog said with a broad grin.  
"What do you mean?" she asked casually.  
"Um- nothing," he said before exciting the house in a hurry.

She turned and glared at him demanding an explanation.

"Well you know, I feel my first impression of you was not the best. But- you ai'ght," he grinned a sheepish smile before finally exiting the house.

Sloane greeted Patricia and Beth who had just come inside of the house with some eggs. She was polite towards them for their grateful hospitality. With that she left the farmhouse.

Outside of the house she stopped for a brief moment and looked up to look at the bright skies. Despite the world having ended, it was a nice day.  
She thought about the sky in California and the way it was permanently gray and dusky due to the air pollution in the city. It had become a wasteland just like Atlanta. She thought of the infected undead that were probably prancing around their city.

There it was again that flash image, the one that came with the guilt and responsibility of knowing that inside of all of them was the virus running through their veins. The fact that she didn't have a lab to progress in her research and work made her guilt feel even profounder.

Suddenly a hand reached out for arm and held a tight grip to it. A scream caught in her throat. Without thinking twice she yanked her arm back and kicked whoever was grabbing her.

"Ah! What the fuck!" a bad-tempered voice suddenly reached her ears.

Sloane noticed it wasn't a threat. It was actually Daryl who was currently kneeling on the ground rubbing his shin.

"What do you think you are doing?" She shot back, pulling away alarmed.

Normally she would've have apologized, but he scared the living daylights out of her. The skin on her arms was covered in goose bumps.

"I want to talk to you," he suddenly blurted.  
"What?" She said confused. "A-About what?" she hated herself for stuttering, for suddenly becoming so vulnerable.  
"About-" he began once again reaching for her arm.

She knew what was coming and why was he so obsessed with grabbing onto her arm _all the time?!_

"Actually-" she reacted pulling her arm back. She looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I don't want to talk to _you_. You…" she trailed off.  
"Confuse me. I feel like we are running in circles and we are never going to reach a conclusion," She finished stepping away from the man.  
"Running in circles, huh?" He said looking down, biting the inside of his cheek. "-And what kind of _conclusion_ would you like to reach?"

She swallowed the knot that had begun to form in her throat. He was too good. She decided changing the subject would be best.

"Daryl. That little girl is dead. She has been dead all this time. You almost died looking for her for God's sake. You have to stop!" She said her voice getting heavier and more agitated by the second.  
"I'm going to find her." He suddenly declared. A determined look blazed in his eyes as his nostrils flared.

Sloane pitted the poor bastard that pissed off Daryl today or any undead that crossed him.

"Dog, come with me," he commanded. Despite the command not being German, just by his tone the dog knew he meant business and just like that he stalked back into the woods.

Sloane stood alone under the porch feeling a heavy burden hammer in her chest.

She returned back to the heart of the camp and for a moment stood alone before all the campers. It was rare that Sloane felt alone, but today she felt completely isolated. She saw Jenner from afar who was casually sitting next to Carol and Glenn talking about who knows what.

He turned to look at her and she looked away upset retrieving to hide away in her tent.

In her tent she continued filling out the medical journals with procedures and medical information for future generations to come.  
This journal was the future not only for her but also for the survival of humanity. Complex diagrams and drawings gave instruction of what to do in certain types of injuries. Sloane stayed up alone the entire night.  
She wrote and wrote everything that her brain could remain and muster in those late hours until she ran out of composition notebooks. By the time she ran out of pages it was already sunrise.


	11. Chapter 11

***** AN: Shout out to sillygabby, your reviews mean the world. Thank you! *****

 **Day 80:**

 **Location: [Greene Farm]**

She carefully packed her notebooks in her priority satchel.

She exited her tent and realized that the Quarry Survivors were already having breakfast outside in the heart of camp. A few acknowledging looks came her way as she approached the group.

"Have you been up all night?" asked Glenn looking at her perplexed.  
"Yeah, I was catching up with my medical journals. I have been putting them off for a while," She explained between yawns.  
"Medical journals?" asked Rick with interest.  
"I try to write everything I know about medicine, chemistry and biology. That way if anything happens to me- the knowledge can be safe and passed on."

Still everyone remained silent. She shifted around her feet uncomfortably.  
 _'A little appreciation would be nice?'_

"Well, that's considerable of you," Lori finally spoke in a hushed tone.

The doctor just rolled her eyes and helped herself to some scrambled eggs T-Dog had made. She could've at least bothered to say it like she actually mean it. She sat next to Jaqui.  
No one at her other side and she offered the kind woman a small smile.

Everyone sat around quietly no one said much. Glenn looked over at the house in the distance where Maggie was standing shaking her head. He then turned to look at Dale who nodded in return. Glenn stood up with his hands in his pockets; he looked around attempting to get the attention from the whole group.

"So.." he begun anxiously. His face was twisted into an expression of concern and anguish.  
"…The barn is full of walkers." He suddenly announced.

An uncomfortable ambiance suddenly overcame the group. Everyone turned to look at him in shock. Sloane gagged and began choking on her breakfast. A whole barn of walkers for her to do research on?! This was great!  
Jaqui patted her back, eyes wide.

"What?!" Shane was the first one to roar.  
"Is this true? Is this real?" He said jumping to his feet instantly taking the lead. "We have to go investigate," he said.  
"Without Daryl?" added Rick.

"What?" Sloane spoke to everyone's surprise. "Daryl isn't back?" she asked feeling a jab at her chest.

"He didn't come back last night," Carol said quietly. She felt her stomach sink. No, he couldn't possibly have…  
"I don't give a damn to were that damn redneck is," Shane hissed. "For all that I know he probably left the camp already!"

 _'No, that's impossible.. And with my dog.'_  
Jenner turned to Sloane and saw that her face turned as pale as a sheet.

She completely missed it when Shane lead the group to the barn to investigate if it was actually filled with walkers.  
Everyone left, but Sloane stayed behind. Soon Jenner approached her.  
"Do you really think he would leave us, just like that?" She asked not meeting his dark eyes.

"No." Jenner breathed. "He wouldn't leave without _you,"_ she only turned to look at him sadly. _She was so stupid…  
_  
Both of them reached the barn by the time Shane was insisting the group had to leave for Fort Benning as Merle would've put it, "He was all gittin' up on Rick's dick, about it."

"We can't leave." Rick insisted.  
"Oh yeah, why not?" Shane challenged.  
"My daughter is still missing," Carol said meekly, her voice pleading.

Shane took a step back and ran his hands over his head and face in an exasperated manner. "Look. We are never going to find that little girl!" He shouted.

"Wait- so the barn is filled with walkers," Sloane stepped in making everyone turn to look at her.  
"This is absolutely marvelous!" she cried out in a glee a smile breaking on her face.

"Have you gone absolutely insane?!" Shane sneered turning to her. The veins in his forehead were popping and his face was crimson in rage.  
"We can't kill them. This is a once in a one time opportunity," she jogged towards the barn and pressed her eye against one of the open cracks of the barn. Instantly she could hear the growling and banging from the other side of the door.

"Do you know what this means?" She turned to look at everyone who was looking at her wide eyes and agape mouths.  
"This means _I_ - _"_ she looked at Edwin and cleared her throat. "We" she corrected herself.  
"We can analyze them! Experiment on them, run test. A live subject is the best bet we have in fighting this disease- or whatever it is consuming us." She explained eagerly.

A small smile made way to Edwin's face her enthusiasm suddenly reminded him of why he had believed in her in the first place.  
If anyone could find a cure for this, it would be Dr. Sloane Byrnes-Gadsden.

"Now you are talking crazy," Shane said allowing a cackle to escape his lips.  
"She thinks she can cure this!" he laughed.

A cruel dry laugh.

Sloane calmly walked over to him, her head standing tall.

"I feel so bad for you Shane," she said looking at him with pity.  
"I really can't wait for the day you turn so I can see the miserable flashes of your petty life run through your eyes," she growled out extremely close to his face.  
"Cunt," he muttered under his breath loud enough for only few to hear.

Sloane didn't hold back she spat a mouthful of saliva to his face.  
It landed in his eyes like a silver bullet.

"Bitch!" he cursed louder and lunged for her, she lunged back with all her strength. "Bitch! Who said I was going to turn! I'm never going to turn into one of those _things_."  
"We are all going to turn!" The doctor shouted back madly.

Her impulsive shout was drawn from her sub-conscious in which she knew that they would all turn. However, no one reacted. No one was shocked or appalled. She figured either most didn't hear or they just assumed it was _"crazy talk."_

"Keep your hands off me!" He screamed.

Between people shouting

"Stop fighting!"

"Sloane!"

"Shane!"

"Doctor!"

"Keep back!"

The noise made everyone's voices muffle and become incoherent.

It was then that the loudest voice that shouted catching everyone's attention. Barking followed as a familiar hound ran into the scene and pounced on Shane biting his arm.

"Hey!" Everyone turned their attention to the voice.

It was a goddam miracle.

There stood Daryl covered in dirt from head to tow looking as if he had gone through hell and all of its seven levels; his breathing was ragged, but there was something odd about the look on his face. People weren't looking at him; they were looking at the girl that stood next to him hugging his arm.

Everything froze. Everyone stopped moving, even breathing. The fighting ceased,

"Well, I'll be dammed," Sloane breathed her mouth ajar open.

"Sophia!" Carol cried out running to hug her daughter.

The girl ran towards her mother's arms and they embraced. Carol cried tears of joy as she was once again reunited with her little girl. Lori clapped, Rick had an ear-to-ear grin and even Carl began to cry in happiness.  
Everyone gathered around them in a circle cheering and patting Daryl in the back.

Outside of the circle stood Sloane and Shane.

"I'll be God-dammed," she repeated to herself not believing what she was seeing.

"Well- as thrilling and wonderful as this moment may be-" Shane began coldly being the buzz kill that he is.  
"We have to kill every damn walker inside of this fucking barn!" Shane shouted. Lori instantly covered Carl's ears.

"Shane, this is not the moment. We all worked so hard to see Sophia safe and sound and- I'll talk to Herschel about it," Rick said calmly.  
"TALK TO HERSCHEL ABOUT WHAT?!" Shane roared aggressively stomping over to Rick. Sloane stood in front of Rick protectively, Lori stood in front of Shane pushing him back with a hand on his chest.

"Get your hands off me!" He shouted at Lori and stepped over to the doctor "And you-" he began ready to get violent.  
"QUIT IT,'" she snapped her voice cracking a deeper southern accent unveiling.

Startled by her screech he actually stood a step back surprised. Rick looked at the woman surprised.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Shane asked licking his lips. "You don't care about Rick. You don't care 'bout no one and now outta the sudden you're his loyal bitch?"

Rick stepped forward and stood next to her. He was pressing her buttons provoking her.

"You're only breaking this group," she said to Shane. "I'm smarter than to fall for your dumb games," she said with a scoff. "The only thing I will say is that, this has to stop. We have to begin to support each other and stand united because like it or not we are living in anarchy."

"We're a team!" Rick shouted agreeing with the doctor.

Shane looked at both with his eyes wide. There was a menacing glint in her eyes, and he knew he should be the one threating lightly.  
With a nod of his head he stormed off to God knows where.

"Sloane," Rick said carefully placing a hand on the woman's tense shoulder. She simply brushed him off and decided to approach Daryl and the young girl. Still walking tall, trying to avoid all the doubting looks she was receiving.

"I had my doubts you would be back," She said ducking so she was face to face with the young girl. Sophia was currently being smothered by her mother's love, tears and kisses.

"I guess we have Daryl to thank for you that. You're a real hero," she said with a small smile before turning back to the girl. He only kept his eyes fixed on her.

She couldn't believe she had been wrong. What was happening all of the sudden? She felt like everything around her was collapsing.  
Her few relationships on the camp, the group, the world, and now her only prized asset?

Sloane instructed her dog to come and it followed her back to camp. She retreated to her tent and decided to take a brief nap. Today's ordeal had really shaken her up.

"Doctor? Doctor Gadsden?" A meek voice called. Sloane woke up and looked at her dog who was eyeing the room carefully waiting for its owner to wake up so he could leaven. Instantly he sprinted out of the tent. Carol had her head poked inside a wide smile on her face. She was glowing.

"Yeah?" called Sloane out drowsily.  
"Could you take a look at Sophia please? She's been gone for a long time and I just want to check that she's healthy. Could you, please?" Carol asked meekly. Even if she attempted to hide the huge smile she wouldn't be able to.

"Yeah. Sure," the woman still said groggily picking up her medical kit stumbling up to her feet.

She made way out of the camp and into the RV where Sophia was sitting with a wide smile eating some eggs mixed with something else. She also wore a bright smile on her face with her rosy cheeks.  
Lori and Jaqui were also inside of the RV.

"Alright, let's take a look," Sloane said still groggy her sleepiness reflected in her eyes.

She put her statoscope on her ears and listened to the girl's heartbeat, it was normal. This girl had been missing for a week, and with absolutely no survival skills she had made it back safe. It was a miracle she had returned safe and sound.

"You must have quite a story to tell," the doctor said.  
"Sophia, tell the doctor the story-" Carol said patting her back.  
"Well you see- I stayed were Rick told me, but there was another walker. So I ran away really, really far, until I found a small cabin. I stayed there for two days hoping someone would come and find me. It was the next day that I traced my steps making way back to where I got lost. Where all the cars were. I found the food that my mom and the rest of the camp left for me so I stayed there, waiting for anyone to come back and then a man found me and took care of me," She explained casually.

"Did you touch or eat anything you weren't supposed to out in the woods? Mushrooms, drank the river water- anything?" the doctor said eyeing the girl carefully.

"Nope," the child chirped. "The nice man took care me while I was in the woods," she explained.  
"Oh, what did Daryl give you?" Sloane said tapping her pen on an old notebook she was running her verdict on.  
"No-Not Daryl, _another man,"_ she explained.

Sloane looked up at the other women who just shrugged.

"Well, who was it? And what did he give you?" Sloane asked as casually as she could. "He never told me his name, but he gave me berries, water and tuna. He said he was heading north. Said he couldn't take me with him because he felt someone was looking for me and he was right!"  
"Oh, children. They just have such vivid imagination sometimes Lori said running a hand through Sophia's messy hair.  
"No. He was real!" She exclaimed. "I remember he was tall and his eyes were like Snowball's one was blue and one was green. He also spoke really funny."

Lori laughed and ran a hand through the girl's hair. She clearly didn't believe the story. Carol explained that Snowball had been their family cat.

The sound of a notebook falling echoed the RV and the women noted that Sloane had gone pale and had become extremely quiet. Her eyes were wide and she held a blank stare a the notebook slipped form her hand slipping to the floor with a loud 'thud!'

It couldn't be…

"Is-Is she OK is something the matter?" Carol asked concerned.

Sloane's heart began hammering in her rib cage. It couldn't be possible; it had to be just a coincidence.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah," she stuttered and shook her head.  
"Peachy. It doesn't seem like she ate anything bad, her heart and breathing are fine and she has no broken bones." She said quickly.  
"And you were very lucky Sophia, not everyone is as kind as the mysterious man you found. Goodness is a rare virtue now a days," Sloane said putting away all of her equipment.

She nodded at the women and quickly stepped out of the RV her heart stuck in her throat making it hard for her to breath.

' _This couldn't be happening.'_

Just how many people had one blue eye and one brown eye and happened to speak with a British accent?

She had to talk to someone. "Edwin!" she called out. "Edwin!" she said louder but the doctor was nowhere to be seen. She wondered just were the hell he had gone to.

She didn't trust any of the women enough to talk about her problems. Besides that there was no one else, and s _he certainly couldn't tell Daryl._  
She ran her hands through her hair exasperatedly and without knowing where to go she ducked to her tent. She was alone, even her dog was gone.

Sitting inside she attempted to organize her thoughts.  
"He's gone. There is no way that he is alive." She breathed.  
"No absolute way," she said to herself in a more determined tone.

After her anxiety attack, she finally exited the tent and the only person outside of it was Daryl. Of course, she really didn't want to talk to him. Instantly she ducked back inside of her tent.

Seeing this he stormed into her tent. She looked so vulnerable kneeling on the floor looking up at him with a panicked expression and wide eyes. It almost reminded him of a doe caught in headlights.

"What? Are you avoiding me or sumethin'?" he said crawling inside the small tent.  
"Yes!" she exclaimed exasperated.

This caught him off-guard.

"Yes! I'm avoiding you!" She exclaimed. "I'm avoiding you because I don't know what to say to you," she shouted louder.  
"I hate to admit that I was wrong, but I was. You saved that little girl and her mother who was down spiraling into madness. I want to leave the group, but I've become conflicted," she finished.  
"So what is it that you want? Because if you don't want anything, leave me alone. You are only wasting your breath," She sighed exasperated.

His gaze was steady, eyes focused.

"What did you mean, by what you said earlier?"  
"Shane has been threatening me for weeks. He can't stand me and-" she trailed off for a moment.  
"We have to adapt. All of us. It's what nature is supposed to do," she shook her head. "We have to stand united. This is the longest we have been without loosing anyone and it's because we have been cooperating. The rules of the old world don't apply anymore."

It had been such a long emotional day. She really didn't want to have this conversation.

"-And.. Despite not forming any emotional attachments to this group. You know I've always said it, "we are a team", "we need to work together,"" she repeated. "We can't afford any more losses and if I want to survive-  
If _we_ want to survive we have to fight for each other," she explained and he listened attentively.

"My original plan, the one that you, Merle and I were supposed to partake in-… my home in South Carolina. I'm not romanticizing my home. _I know_ we will be safe there. It's called Crescent Haven Hall; I agreed to come with you and your brother because I know that we make a good team. You make me feel safe and I can care for both of you," she continued.  
"And as for the rest, I figured survival of the fittest would take them. I felt like these people would become dead weight. But I've realized that everyone plays an important role in camp and I can't rely on " _Social Darwinism."_ Everyone has a special and necessary purpose in order for life to progress and continue. Men, women, children... All are needed. It's just so-frustrating," that's when the tears finally spilled.  
"This hell that we live in. How are we supposed to survive if we can't stop this madness? If _I_ can't stop this insanity from consuming us," a pair of involuntary tears spilled from her eyes.

Daryl wasn't certain what to do. He was never good at consoling people. To make matters worse he had no experience in consoling crying women. If he ever cried, well his consolation was a bloody beating from either Merle or his father.

She hated crying and more when it was in front of him and it seemed like it was the only thing she did not a days.

Daryl realized that he had also been wrong.

She did care.

"Sloane," he began slowly. She looked up to meet his eyes and she saw nothing but absolute confidence in his look.  
"If anyone can cure us, it's you."

Daryl didn't know how he had done it but he had somehow managed to make the woman crack a smile. It was in that same moment he didn't realize she had wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you…" She whispered burying her face in the crook of his neck. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around her unsure of what to do; uncomfortable from the position they were in. Both on their knees crawling around in her tent.

She pressed her lips against his cheek and when she suddenly saw what she had done she pulled away starring at him with a pink face. He starred back at her and his hands reached for the back of her head ensuring she wouldn't move and he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

A smirk curved over his lips when he saw her face turned an even brighter shade of crimson almost blending her freckles with her skin.

"Have some faith. Good things take time."

"You have to stop saying that," she said trying to hide her growing grin.  
She had never been good with these amorous interactions. He wiped a lost tears with his thumb.  
"Again, thank you," She smiled at him and almost sprinted out of the tent. Leaving Daryl inside dumb folded.

"Wait! Where ya goin'?!" he called after her stuck his head out of the tent.  
"I have to talk to Hershel! Can't let him kill those walkers!" she ran.  
"What?!" he shouted and ran after her. Due to his recent injury Daryl wasn't as fast as he wished and he stopped running half way to catch his breath.

Sloane sprinted inside of the house and jogged to Hershel's office. There she found him sitting on his desk reading the Bible.  
"Hershel!" she began catching his attention. "Pardon my bold intrusion," she cleared her throat. "I wanted to have a word with you, about the walkers in your barn," He closed the Bible and looked up to meet her eyes.

In that moment there was a knock on the door and Rick walked in. Rick had different purposes. Discussion enfolded. Rick was telling Hershel he wanted to do something about the walkers in the barn and comforted him about the reality that we are living in.

"I want all of you out of my property by the end of the week," Hershel barked.

"You can't do that!" Rick shot back. "Please, let us stay this farm is our only safe haven. We need to stay here please. My wife is pregnant!" Rick said with wide eyes the veins on his neck pulsating from stress.  
'So Lori _is_ pregnant?' Sloane's eyes went wide. She felt her blood began to boil. She clenched her fist in an attempt to calm her jumping nerves.

"You will not kill the _people_ in my barn." Hershel slammed his fist on the table.  
"Those people are my family!" he said louder.  
"Yes-" Sloane interrupted turning all eyes in the room to her.  
"I believe you." She said sternly. " I also believe there is a cure to this disease." She paused and briefly laid her eyes on Hershel's Bible.  
"I know-through God that strengthens us, that this will be brought to an end. So please, let us stay. Let me try and cure your family," She pleaded with her most persuasive tone. Her voice coated in honey.

Rick turned to her with his eyes wide, mouth ajar. He finally saw it, Lori was right about the woman. She was a master manipulator. Rick knew that the doctor very well damn knew that there was no cure once you died. She knew just what strings to pull and push to her convince him and get what she wanted. In this case her only choice was to reference The Bible and tug at Hershel's devotion for religion.  
"If not for us, for Rick and his family. Do you recall in the Old Testament, the Gospel of Luke, when Mary and Joseph couldn't find a place to stay the night in Bethlehem. The night that their Son was to be born?"

Hershel suddenly slouched over and exhaled a breath he had been holding, "Very well then, you may stay. A long as the doctor can work on curing my family," Hershel said looking away.  
"Very well," Sloane said quietly making eye contact with Rick.  
"With your permission, if I am to make any scientific progress or teach anyone else in this farm about medicine I am going to need the proper resources. So I propose going on a run to town," She finished briefly.

Both stepped out of the office and Rick turned to face her.

"Yes?" she asked in the most polite tone she could muster.  
Rick opened his mouth, but no sound came out, instead he shook his head and walked away.  
"Gee, you're welcome," Sloane rolled her eyes and exited the house.

She returned to the heart of the camp were she saw Lori walking around with some clean laundry she was going to return to their rightful owners.

"Well, Lori," she approached her with a grim smile.

Shane was nearby watching closely and so was Daryl who was cleaning his knives near the tree shade.

"I had to say congratulations! I didn't know you were pregnant," she smiled a bitterly sweet smile. Lori felt her stomach drop and her blood ran cold. Nearby Shane dropped the wood he was carrying and he immediately sprinted towards Lori.

"What?!" he exclaimed.  
"Is the baby-? Is it mine?" he said with his heart racing. Shane was so caught up with emotion that he forgot Sloane was standing before them with both of her eyebrows arched up in surprise.

"whoops…" she said innocently. Making a tsking noise with her tongue.

Normally she would've stayed and lectured Lori on how much of a burden she would become to the group. However, she figured leaving her with a pissed off Shane would be a more suiting punishment. She would have to deal with the consequences by herself. Even if that meant she had planted her own gravestone.  
She would've also rubbed in the fact that she had gotten her family a place to stay until she became alleviated of her… _delicate condition._

Instead of sticking around to savor the drama she preferred retire to her tent. Arriving she collapsed on her sleeping bag. Sloane spent that afternoon looking at a map of were to look for science equipment. She figured a college or a high school lab were the best choices, however they would be high-risk areas as well. She also thought about other potential nearby places where they could become permanent settlers. Sleeping outside of Hershel's farm wasn't completely safe. She wondered what would happen if a hurricane or a tornado came to the farm. Autumn was just around the corner and after that winter could come; if they didn't stay inside of the Greene farmhouse they would become popsicles.

Finally the doctor returned back to Hershel's home with a small smile.  
"I have a plan, and I know what I need and were I can get it," she began. "I do need someone to come to the city with me. So I would like to organize-"

She was interrupted by the deafening sound of shotguns outside of the house. Immediately Hershel ran to his feet the woman followed behind him. Maggie, Jimmy, Beth and the entire Greene family ran out to the barn.

There stood Shane holding and handing out guns to the camp as if they were Halloween candy. Maggie, Carl and Lori were surrounding him in an attempt o persuade him to do otherwise.

"What in the devil I going-" Hershel wasn't even able to finish speaking.  
"Your wrong!" Shane began; Sloane could see the rage in his eyes. She knew that if she confronted him right now he'd definitely kill her.  
"Those things inside the barn aren't your family. They are monsters," he said with his jaw clenched.  
Without any hesitation He shot the lock of the barn open and it first- there was darkness. Then they came out walking one by one.

Shane then drew his gun and began shooting the walkers.  
"Would a living human be able to survive this?" he shouted as he fired multiple shots into a female walker's chest. Hershel was shook.  
Sloane watched in horror as Shane destroyed her potential test subjects.

"We all need to start fighting to survive!" Shane barked encouraging everyone else to shoot. Behind the lines Lori held Carl in a hug holding him close to her. So did Carol not daring to let go of her recently found daughter.

Seconds later, Shane began a tirade about how the group needs to start fighting to survive and that they need to stop wasting time on pointless endeavors and that there was absolutely no tolerance for walkers.  
Of course Andrea followed in Shane's suit. T-Dog, and Glenn killed them as the Greene family watched in horror. Glenn only joined in after having Maggie's consent. Rick didn't have any energy left to stop them.

"No! Stop it!" Sloane shouted running towards Shane.  
"I need them!" she pleaded.

It was suddenly that she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and hold her back.

"Let me go!" she shouted at Daryl who was holding her.  
She noticed that Jenner and Jackie were standing all the way behind, next to Lori and Carol. Jaqui was holding Kaiser close to her who was barking at the creatures coming from the barn.

It finally ended. The massacre was over. Sloane crouched the ground and squeezed her fist into a handful of dirt. With venomous eyes she looked up to see Shane and Andrea standing before her. Andrea was raising a gun at her head. And Shane stood with his back erect his rifle smoking as he put it down. In the deafening silence you could hear the cries of Hershel and his family, sobbing for the fall of their loved ones.

Sloane looked up and in front of her the only thing she could see was the gaping mouth of the gun staring back at her.

"Shoot me!" She shouted. Daryl's grip tightened on her arms.  
"If you are stupid enough to doom this camp, you might as well screw humanity!" She spat the blonde.  
"Shut up!" Daryl hissed holding her tighter.  
Andrea gritted her teeth nastily. For a brief moment she thought of Amy and how Sloane had killed her sister.  
"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction," She coughed up.  
"You think you're so special, that you can save us all. When you can't even save yourself!" She shrieked putting her gun back in her pocket.

That was a low blow, the woman finally collapsed mentally exhausted. Her teeth grinding in anger. It was in that moment that she glared at her enemies through her lashes. In that moment all her mercy was gone and she promised that Shane and Andrea would be what she was used to calling- _collateral damage._

Now she had to plan just how she would deal with this nuisance.

Eventually everyone left and Daryl crouched down next to Sloane who was still laying down in the ground.  
"You alright?" He asked with his lips drawn into a thin line.  
"Peachy," she answered in a strained voice. Dusting herself off.  
"Sloane, even if you want to cure these people. There is nothing you can do for them- once they've turned," he explained.  
"Andrea and Shane are going to kill me," she suddenly blurted.

Daryl saw the panic in her wide eyes and how her face paled. She was taken back when a smirk came to his features and he shook his head.

"You think I'll allow that?" he said looking at her intensely grabbing on to her shoulders. She didn't understand how he had the patience and energy to put up with her every day. He had proved to be even more loyal and supportive than her supposed best comrade Edwin.

"Why are you so good to me?" She said hugging him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Day 80  
Location: [Greene Farm]**

 _As time in the apocalypse had progressed Sloane began to hate herself more and more. She hated how her humanity was consumed more and more each day and how despite all her efforts to ensure her survival and the ones of the rest of the group she was always shunned and painted as the antagonist. Their fascination for her as their doctor had vanished and now she had only become a dangerous asset of the group.  
She had stopped confiding in Jenner weeks ago. It seemed like the only people she could rely on were Daryl and well- her dog._

Daryl prided himself on his gut feeling. He had always had the keen ability to see a person for whom they truly were. That is despite of their office, behavior or behavior. It was a sharpened instinct that spat at him whenever someone meant ill to him or anyone else. The only instance in which he admitted to being wrong was in his first encounter with the doctor, then again, what would you think if you basically hitch hiked a stranger covered in blood and paint that had just crashed into you?

* * *

"I know you mean well," he said rubbing the top of her arm in a comforting matter. "Come on let's go back to the camp."

The rest of the group was preparing to bury and burn the bodies of the Greene family's loved ones.

"I'm going to help with the digging," he said getting ready to help the rest of the group.  
"Thank you," She said giving his hand a gentle squeeze before drifting apart. Then it was back to reality. She wondered what kind of stuff Daryl liked, she wanted to do something nice for him, but then again she wasn't' the most artistic or talented person in the camp. Maybe he'd like a new knife?  
She was so caught up in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize that someone was glaring at her.

She turned and saw Edwin starring at her from far away observing her; she instantly marched up to him.

"Where were you all this time? I was looking for you!" he said in a stern tone.  
"Really?" she said coking an eyebrow.  
"Looks like you don't need me anymore," he said with a small smirk, his eyes however showed no emotion.

"What are you even doing? Just standing here?" she questioned looking at him. Suddenly from behind she felt her dog back at her side. It was nice to have him back after sharing him with so many of the other survivors.

"I'm analyzing. Calculating the outcome of this camp," he said casually, while leaning against a tree. Curiously, Sloane joined him and leaned back with him.  
"So you've noticed too," she said slowly.  
"If you don't kill them, they are going to kill you first," he said turning to face her.

She knew he was right.

"Edwin, if I asked of you- Well, if it was me or them. Would you choose me?" He turned to look at her with his swift eyes and chuckled.  
"Always," he said with a sly grin.  
"Please keep an eye out," she asked kindly.

"Doctor! Doctors!" A pained voice caught their attention. Outside of the farmhouse Maggie came sprinting towards them.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" Sloane said stepping forward.  
"It's Beth," she exhaled.

Sloane didn't know much about Maggie's little sister. She spent most of her time alone with her boyfriend.  
It was the first she had heard of her.

Inside of the house Beth had collapsed. She had a fever amongst other serious symptoms and was laying down in the "sick bed" as Sloane had proceeded to call it.

"Beth, can you hear me?" she asked.  
"It seems like she's in a state of shock…" Jenner observed.  
"I would have to agree. For now there's not much we can do, just give her the medicines we have here and allow her to rest. The shock will pass," Sloane said trying to comfort Maggie and Jimmy, who was loyalty at her side.  
"Where is your father?" she asked Maggie looking up to meet her aqua green eyes.

Maggie shrugged and looked down sadly. "He's gone," she said softly.

"Only left this," she said pulling an empty flask from the back of her pocket.  
"We have to go get him," Maggie said in a determined tone.  
"What do you think is going on?" she asked Jenner as they walked back to camp.  
"Hershel has lost his sanity. I'm not surprised; it only takes time in this apocalypse. Lost mine only a short while ago," he said casually.  
"Yeah, and you almost killed us all," she retorted rolling her eyes at him.

Returning to the heart of the camp they began looking for Rick but he was nowhere to be found, when suddenly a hushed whispered caught Jenner's attention.

"You know Lori," he began. "I think Shane killed Otis."  
Jenner's eyes went wide and he pressed a finger to his lips, holding Sloane down as they ducked behind the RV eavesdropping on the conversation. "What?" Lori said in a tone of disbelief.  
"I believe Shane shot Otis and left him as bait to cover his escape when he went to get those medicines for Carl. And you know what's worse, I think it's only a matter of time before he kills someone else," Dale said darkly.

"Well we all know whom he would kill, if he were to kill anyone, and honestly, it's probably the same person we would all kill. She should be more careful, woman is a loose cannon," Dale mused, his eyes wide.

Sloane's face scrunched up in an angry scowl. Without looking at Jenner she impulsively curved around the RV.

"Is that so?" She said darkly.

Instantly Dale froze and looked at her with wide eyes. Lori was paralyzed with fear as she felt a chill run up her spine. That was all she said, she didn't bother in threatening them or harassing them. They were already terrified of her…

Jenner simply spared them an arrogant look as he followed after the other doctor.

Carl and Sophia were playing scrimmage soccer with an old ball they had found. Carol was contentedly watching them. She stood staring at the children from a close distance. Her loving eyes were focused on her daughter.

Jaqui said that she had seen Rick with the other men when they were preparing the burial.

The doctors approached him with the news, and as soon as the others were informed of the situation Rick and Glenn armed up ready to go into town with Maggie to look for her father. Sloane and Jenner insisted on going since they urgently needed any type of scientific kit to begin working on their "cure for humanity." The group denied them that privilege and insisted that at least one doctor should stay to take care of Beth.

"I have to go, Edwin we have lost a lot of time. I need to begin my research," she pleaded.  
"Nonsense. I'll go if anything happens to me the world will continue to spin. Besides, believe it or not your _lover boy_ is glaring daggers at me. I don't think he'd like for you to go out without him," Jenner said to only her with a wink.  
"Oh, sod off. I do what I want, when I want," Sloane rolled her eyes and bid goodbye to the group.

The doctor stood leaning against a lonely tree that her and Jenner usually stood under. Like always she was writing in the small left over spaces of her composition notebooks. Her trademark bandana was wrapped around her neck; the quartz necklace she stole was hanging down her neck. Her satchel always on her. The tree's branches provided shelter from the unbearable sun. The wind was beginning to become stronger as the weather slowly changed.  
It was then that she saw Daryl approaching her; his eyes were squinted from the bright sun. With a silly smile she look up to him and snuck to the back of the tree. As she hid there she suddenly felt his presence.

"So- What did that Jenner guy want? Cozying up with you?" Daryl asked immediately.

She failed at hiding her laugh. He wiped some sweat from his brow. She raised her canteen offering him a sip of her water.

"Nothin', why don't tell me you're jealous of Edwin?"  
He huffed and rolled his eyes "Jealous of that clown?"  
"He rubs me off the wrong way," he said wrapping one of his arms around her neck and pulling her close. "I bet he'd just love to cozy up with you, and you'd just love that."

"Come on," she laughed. "Daryl, you're smarter than that."

He planted a rough kiss on her temple.

She almost wondered if he was drunk. She wasn't used to this affection specially from him.

"Your _mine_ girl," he said in that brusque voice of his.

She wasn't sure what to say, or how to act.

"I am no one's" she said with that playful grin snuggling up closer to him.

"Oh, yeah?" He challenged.

"Doctor!"

Talk about mood killer!  
The couple leapt almost two feet away from each other. Lori approached the red-faced couple.

"What?" the doctor hissed noticing that Lori talking to them.  
"Um- Beth isn't getting any better. We really need to go get Rick. So I was wondering if either you or Daryl could go," she asked batting her eyelashes at them.  
"Have you asked Shane?" Sloane jeered in a nasty tone. "You know, since you are both _so close_?"  
"I did." She said brushing off her venomous comment.  
"He said he was busy. So can you do it?"

Sloane didn't even bother, loosing her patience, she just returned to check on her patient. "So could you?" Lori asked once again looking at Daryl with pleading eyes.  
"What do I look like?" Daryl snapped suddenly feeling in a foul mood. "Your errand boy? I'm done looking for people. You want to go get Rick. Go get him yourself!" He said before storming off back into his chores, leaving Lori with no choice but to go get Rick herself.

Sloane was checking on Beth, Jimmy was praying besides her bed.  
"I don't know what's wrong with her…" Jimmy said almost in tears.  
"Her fever is getting worse, and she still won't respond."

Sloane looked at the young man before her, she was moved by his attentions.

"Look Jimmy, I'm an immulogist," she began slowly. "I know little about the study of mental health. My knowledge goes as far as general medicine and surgery," she explained to the best of her ability.  
"What?" he suddenly shouted jumping to his feet. "Bullshit! There's gotta be something you can do! Aren't you supposed to be world renowned or something?!" he shouted his face growing flushed veins in his next beginning to pop.

"Look-" She bit glaring at the young boy.  
"I am limited here- I don't have all the drugs or medical supplies I wish I had. I'm working with all I have," she snarled.  
"So I'd appreciated if you didn't speak to me in that."

She went to get a rag of cold water to press on Beth's forehead.  
"Now I am going to advice you to be quiet and do as I say. If her fever escalates it is possible that she might go deaf or even worse blind."

Jimmy did as Sloane said and it seemed like Beth was finally getting better. A couple of hours later Beth began to regain consciousness and although she remained mute she was responding by nodding or shaking her head.

It was in the evening that Jaqui called everyone for dinner that the group realized that Lori never did come back from looking for Rick.

"Where's my mom?" Carl suddenly asked.

Discussion ensured and at realizing she never returned so Shane decided to venture out and look for her.

It was officially the evening and Rick and the group still weren't back. Shane had returned empty handed. Apparently he had found her vehicle crashed in the middle of the road but no signs of the woman.

Shane began to panic. Carl began to cry and inconsolably wail. Both of his parents were now missing.

"Lori is missing!" he exclaimed.  
"We need to send a search party to look for her!" he insisted the veins in his neck popping out of stress his eyes wide with anxiety.  
"Funny. I thought you said w needed to stop sending search parties for people," the doctor mused as she turned away from the group.  
"Maybe she found Rick," commented Andrea.  
"-But, why would she leave her vehicle?" he insisted.

Having enough of the conversation the doctor left the group.

She was presently lying down in the middle of the grass simply starring up at the sky. Daryl was nearby hanging some of his clothes to dry on a line.  
On the line as well were some dead squirrels and a set of walker ears he had collected from some of his walker victims.

Despite the peaceful look on her face she was woman plotting each and every scenario in which Shane or Andrea could possibly kill her and what would be the most efficient way to defend herself. This was a new world. It was kill or be killed. Part of her contemplated killing them both, but… that would go against everything that she had sworn and worked for as a medical professional. Then again, those rules didn't apply to this world anymore.

It was then that Carol approached them, Daryl hadn't noticed yet because he was inside of his tent, which was when Carol came in snooping around the camp. She didn't seem to notice Sloane lying down besides the green tall grass.

"Hey!" Daryl suddenly snapped noticing her looking at his stuff. "What do you think you are doing?"

Sloane didn't even bother paying attention to the argument from the bits that she caught on to, Carol had come to thank Daryl for finding her darling girl and Daryl had shouted at her to "get lost" and stop "snooping through his stuff", she simply shook her head and flipped a page of her notebook, typical Daryl. She remembered when they were like that.

From a distance Jenner watched with curious eyes. He saw the older woman's painful expression and how Daryl's face twisted into an upset grimace. He had to do something about _this._

"You are so macabre. You know those ears will only become burdensome, right?"  
"These are my trophies," he said smugly, still in a bad mood from his recent argument.  
"Really?" she retorted. "At the rate you kill walkers it won't be long before you'll need a shelf for all your 'trophies.'"  
"Woman," he sighed. "You don't understand. Let's see how many walkers have you killed?" he said crossing his arms. She looked up to him and rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah- that's right. One," he retorted.

She simply shrugged "I guess I've just been lucky."  
"Tsk- well your luck won't last forever. I've gotta teach you how to kill,"  
"Believe it or not I'm very skilled in the area of ballistics. It would only be a waste of bullets."  
"Who said anything about bullets?" He said ducking into his tent for something. A moment later he stepped outside carrying what seemed like an arsenal of knives.

The sun was about to set when they headed out into the field to practice and he handed her one of his knives. He explained to her that it was a bowie knife and carefully taught her how to handle and wield it.  
"Remember these simple rules and you should be fine: 1) always cut away from you, 2) Keep your thumb off the blade, 3) focus and lastly, 4) never- _ever_! Throw your knife! This is a death sentence, because you won't be able to get it back. Got it?"

He pressed the knife to her hand and fixed her fingers were they should be.

"You see a walker don't hesitate just drive it between its eyes-"  
"It's gotta be the brain," they both said at the same time.

He glared and she only flashed him an innocent smile.  
He only shook his head "One walker… can't believe it;" he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Daryl! Sloane!" It was T-Dog that suddenly came sprinting to the scene. His face was pale and his eyes were wide in fear.  
They both turned to look at him surprised.

"Carol has been bit."

* * *

Daryl and Sloane dashed to the scene. Dale and Andrea were hosting Carol up and the back of her leg was exposed. A nasty crimson, cut, contrasted her pale skin.

"It's just a scratch!" She said her voice hollow and face pale with fear. "It's just a scratch," she continued repeating to herself.

 _It was not a scratch._

Kaiser was barking and Jenner was at the scene as well as Jaqui.

On the ground next to her was about a dozen or so of Cherokee roses simply lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Daryl said raising up his crossbow alarmed.  
"I went out to look for some flowers, for Sophia and- one of those monsters- it was crawling… just grabbed on to my leg and scratched me, It's nothing really!" she said eyes beginning to well up with tears. Her denial could easily be heard in her voice. Her eyes welled with pools of tears and began to spill.


	13. Chapter 13

**Day 80:**

 **Location: [Heart of Camp, Greene Farm]**

"Sun of a bitch, bastard is still out there," Daryl grumbled as he sprinted into the tall grass were the walker was other followed after him.

"Don't kill it!" Sloane pleaded. "Aw! Come on! It's a crawler!" She shouted after them. Her efforts were meaningless. She turned to Carol and instantly went into action.

"Somebody give me a belt!" Dr. Gadsden shouted urgently. "There's still something we can do."

"A belt?" Jaqui repeated confused.  
Nobody moved. "A belt someone?!" She screeched frantically.  
Dale immediately handed the doctor his.

"Carol, your leg," she asked as she inspected the wound. She asked Sophia to move. She was hugging her mother crying into her shoulder in desperation. She immediately wrapped the belt just above the woman's knee.

"If we cut the blood flow to the rest of her body we can amputate her leg from below the knee. I don't know if it would work or if it's too late, but there's always a possibility."

"Amputate?" Carol cried out.  
"Possibility?" Dale questioned nervously.  
"I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to fully analyze the effects of the infection or the cycle in which it functions. It's going to hurt a lot, you will bleed a lot, but the only thing I can assure you is there is a 50% chance of success," the doctor explained.

"Let's do this!" She insisted.

 **Day 81:**

 **Location: [Greene Farm]**

That same morning in different news. After Shane and Maggie returned to the city to find her father and the group the group managed to return safely. However, Lori wasn't with them. She was still missing.

Meanwhile Carol, well…

Carol refused to have the surgery. She claimed that she wouldn't be able to stand the pain, and that she could barely survive as of now. She would be completely useless as a lame.

The doctor insisted, but in the end it was her sole choice to make.

"Think of your daughter," she pleaded.  
"You're a good person Dr. Gadsden. I know you and the other good people in the camp will take good care of her," she said kindly with tears in her eyes.

How was it that despite being in such an ill condition she still managed to have that positive outlook and speak about "good"?  
How was it that she was so selfish as to leaving her daughter completely alone in this apocalyptic world?

Carol decided to spend her last day with her daughter.  
They both made flower crowns for each other out of the Cherokee roses she had picked herself. They laughed and skipped in the sun, spinning, attempting to become oblivious to the fact that the NAV had activated and would consume Carol soon.  
It wasn't long before Carol began feeling sicker and sicker.  
Everyone in the camp said their goodbyes to her.  
Many sobbed, Sophia was inconsolable.  
Jenner offered Carol an easy way out, she would have to take some rat poison tablets. Death would be immediate.  
When the time came. Jenner took her into the forest alone where she took the rodenticide. The cyanide mixture of it in massive proven to be lethal causing instant death. Her body would be buried near Otis and the rest of Hershel's family. Her tomb covered with pristine, white, Cherokee roses.

Sloane currently stood in front of the tomb. Sophia was a sobbing mess, banging on the floor wailing for her dead mother. The child had just become an orphan. The doctor didn't know how to console her. Next to the tomb stood Edwin. Despite his serious expression, a glint in his eyes told Sloane he had a secret. With narrowed eyes she looked at him curiously.

 _'Later,'_ his look seemed to tell her.

Sloane made way inside back to the Greene house.

She toyed with the statoscope that was wrapped around her neck and pulled down the bandana from her mouth as she stepped into Beth's room.  
The girl was finally back to her senses and was sitting up in her bed hugging her knees. The breakfast that the doctor had brought her earlier that day was untouched.

"Good afternoon," the doctor said as she walked in.

She received no response from her patient.

Without the response Sloane continued doing her check up, her pulse and her temperature seemed fine, as she did her medical work Beth analyzed the doctor's face features. She noted how the doctor's eyes were hazel, and she observed how the freckles that dotted her skin sunk into some of the crinkles and dimples of her face.

"You look a little pale. Some food would suit you well. I say you eat up," she said placing the untouched plate of food on her lap.

"It's just so pointless," she cried, tears streaming down her face.  
"Oh, did it sound like a choice? That's a doctor order," she said turning to look for the knife and fork. She picked up the fork and smirked when she noticed the knife was missing.

Beth looked at her nervously holding the knife tightly under her sheets.  
"If you plan on stabbing me do it now, while I'm annoyed at the world and don't care enough," she said with narrowed eyes.

Beth looked down and slapped the knife on the doctor's hand.

"Thank you," she said rolling her eyes.  
"It's not what you think." Beth began, "I don't want to hurt you,"  
Sloane cocked an eyebrow and looked at the girl curiously, "Amuse me."  
"It's just that… there is no point in this world," Beth began tears streaming down her face.  
"Living in this world, where you can die a any time. Where your love ones can die-"

Beth then realized that her doctor stood up and was about to exit the room.

However, as soon as Sloane reached for the door Beth called her out "Hey!" she called not believing her behavior.

"Listen _kid!_ " She suddenly snapped.  
"I'm not your psychologist, and honestly, I have enough problems of my own to deal with. I'm going to tell you something that someone should've told you a long time ago. Life is tough. Life has always been tough even before this living hell and it never gets easier. The whole point of living is surviving. So advice you to _get with it."_

Sloane walked out just in time to see Maggie walking into the house.

"Maggie- Listen," she said suddenly in a stern tone. She didn't notice that Andrea was in the kitchen eavesdropping. Sloane explained the situation with Beth and placed the sharp knife in Maggie's hand.

"I'm not a psychiatrist, I've done everything I can for her. At this point, I'm done," she said slowly walking away.  
"Wait- Doctor Sloane please!" Maggie begged.

The woman didn't look back.

Outside she saw Herschel and the other men in camp stomping around the camp nervously. Rick had been on edge ever since he found out that Lori was missing and Shane was out of control.

* * *

"What the hell happened here!" Shane roared.

Dale proceeded to exclaim everything that had happened.

"Carol is dying? Lori didn't come back?" he exclaimed.  
"Wait- Lori is missing?!" Rick exclaimed.

The sight of his son's red eyes beginning to swell with tears tolled him.

It was complete chaos.

* * *

As she carefully observed them, Shane suddenly turned his head and their eyes met. Like a loose bullet Shane sprinted towards her direction.

"Did you have anything to do with it?" He said sneaking up behind her pressing his gun to her back.

She didn't answer. That was a preposterous questions.

"I dare you."

Was the only thing she uttered, her eyes still facing forward. "I want everyone in this camp to see just the monster you really are," just in that instance Glenn began approaching them so Shane cursed and put his gun back in his holster before storming away.

"Doctor!" Glenn began as he held a large bag in his hand.  
"I know it isn't much, but I figured you might need these in a nearby future," looking inside of the bag she saw several mason jars that seems they were used to keep marmalade. There were also two more composition notebooks inside of the bag.  
"This is great. Thank you," she said shortly.  
"I know you tend to get the shorter end of the stick around the camp, but I can see that you mean well. So can Maggie, she defends you a lot," he said nodding, nervously toying with his cap.  
"Defends me?" Sloane retorted.

As soon as Glenn saw Daryl approaching them he scrammed off without a second comment. Daryl had an upset expression on his face as he wiped the building sweat from his brow.

"Hey, what's goin on?" she said still holding on to the supplies Glenn had brought back for her.  
"It's that gross bastard," he said shaking his head in annoyance.  
"I don't understand what's happening," she said shrugging making way to her tent. "What? How can you not get _it?_ " he said moving his arms around in an exaggerated matter.

"I told you, I don't get it. Why did you have to bring him back? Especially if you know his group is seeking him and will come for revenge.  
You should've just left him for dead. It would've even saved you some time to get away." She said as they both walked towards her tent.  
"What? How can you not- ugh… sometimes I don't understand the way you think," he said growing annoyed, his frustration budding.  
"It was Jenner's idea!" he suddenly exploded.

She went inside of her tent he waited outside. Upset with his arms crossed.

Apparently on their outing to get Hershel to return to the farm. The gang had run into some trouble. And out of that trouble came a young man they brought back with them. Apparently they got in a rumble with their group who was now looking for revenge and for their missing crew member.

"Point is- we are interrogating him, but he's not being responsive. So maybe you have any ideas on how to get some soup out of him?"  
"You want me to go and torture the guy?" she said poking her head out of her tent to look at him with an incredulous look.  
"Daryl? Does it look like I know anything about harboring and torturing enemies for information?"

He figured this one of those trick questions women asked their significant others. It must have been Sloane's equivalent for _"Does this dress make me look big?"_

It took every amount self control in his body to refrain from answering _"yes."_

He looked away running hand through his short hair nervously, "Well you know a lot ' _about everything_ ," he said quietly, turning his gaze away from her.

"I can't believe you!" she shouted from the inside as she rummaged through some of her stuff.

Oh, he had answered wrong. He stuck his head inside of her tent. He really wasn't in the mood today. He was expecting to see her upset, but instead there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Well-" She turned to face him and with a straight expression approached him. To his surprise she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him completely inside of the tent.

"W-Woah!" he said as he collapsed on the floor right on top of her.  
"I guess I'll just have to show you what I know-" she said her hand trailing up his neck playing with the back of his hair.

* * *

A couple of minutes later Sloane emerge out of the tent, she had an impish look on her face as she walked away. She bit on her lower lip in an attempt to hide her growing smile. Daryl poked his head out of the tent.

"Gadsden! I swear to God. If you even think of pulling that kind of shit with that ass-" He was suddenly interrupted by Rick who approached the couple with a mortified expression on his face. He looked completely devastated.

"Doctor-" he trailed off, taking in the appearance of the couple in front of him.

The woman looked fine, but Daryl look- he almost looked sick?  
With his heavy breathing and messy hair, also his face was flushed.

"Are you OK?" he asked the man curiously his eyes distract. The Dixon only grumbled and looked away. This only made the smirk grow wider on the woman's face.

"We are planning on sending search party-" Rick began.  
"Yes to find Lori," Sloane said dryly.  
"Rick. I know how important this is to you," she began.  
"But we have to prioritize. You decided to bring back an individual who could be a potential threat to our group. An individual who might have others looking for him. If we don't take care of this problem first it might lead to more problems. We need to figure out what to do with him before we set out to look for Lori, and you can't go out there by yourself. Think of your son, think of Carl. What will be of him incase you don't return?"

Rick put his head down, his head was hot, his fist clenched at his sides in impotence. He didn't know if she was manipulating him or if she was right. Regardless she wasn't willing to help him. The man suddenly began sobbing before the hunter and the doctor.

"I was able to find Lori and Carl before. I know that I can do it again," he said in a determined tone.  
"If you are so adamant about it. Take someone with you. Daryl and I will look after Carl and ensure that everything runs smoothly for the day."

Rick nodded and asked the group to follow him into the slaughter shed were the young man was being held.

Inside of the shed stood Shane with his arms crossed, he kept on pacing from side to side impatiently.  
Rick, Daryl and Sloane walked in. Tied up in the corner was a small man, with dark eyes and a swollen violet face. He couldn't have been older than 21.

 _'Geez, Daryl really played a number on that one…'_ she thought looking at beaten face.  
"Wouldn't have been that bad if fucking Tweedy had decided to sing for us," Daryl replied. She realized she had said that out loud.

"Randall, this is our doctor. We thought that if you don't want to talk to us, maybe you'd like to have a fellow chat with her."

Rick said introducing them.

Sloane approached Randall carefully. She noticed his leg was covered in blood and saw a nasty gash on it. If not attended it would become infected and he would die soon. This man was dead regardless of the outcome.  
The man looked at her curiously as she observed him. Was this some kind of joke? He had just been hammered by the toughest guy on their group and now they sent her in?

"Doctor?" Randal retorted with a scoff. "Women _can't_ be doctors!"

 _'Oh, shiiiit!'_

The room suddenly flooded with a gross tension.

It almost seemed like everyone stopped breathing.  
Rick's eyes went wide as he pursued his lips, Daryl allowed a low hiss to escape his lips and Shane simply made way out of the shed.  
The doctor stood tall looking at the man with one of her eyes involuntarily twitching in annoyance.

"Randall, you and I are going to have a little chat. How about that?" she said with a sarcastic smile stepping away from him.

"Can I have a moment alone with Randall?" she asked turning to face the men behind her.  
"You can't kill him!" Shane threatened pointing a long finger at her poking his head back in the barn.

She simply cocked an eyebrow and sighed in annoyance.

"When I choose the field of medicine as my dedication, I made a vow to save and heal people regardless of my own prejudices and opinions. Just like you did when you became a servant of the law? _Or am I mistaken?"_

He only bellyached about something under his breath and went away. They all simply headed out. Sloane stood alone before Randall.

"So what are you going to do to me?" the man cried out.  
"Torture me even worse? Cut my leg off?" He cried his face twisted into a nasty grimace.  
"Man- I would really kill for a cigarette right now," this completely caught him off guard. _'Huh?'  
_  
He saw the woman approached him once again and sat in front of him with her legs crossed.

"What are you doing?" he asked wincing at the hit that never came. He observed her.

She was _weird_ he could tell just by the first impression.  
She was wearing a white lab coat that appeared to be pristine despite the mess where they were camping. She wore a red bandana around her neck and a crystal necklace that hung low. Her pants were dark with worn up sneakers and a dark blue t-shirt.

"Talking. I just want an honest confession about what's happening," she explained calmly.  
"Oh, thank god. Bless you lady. I can't believe they would allow an angel as yourself inside to keep me company-" he sighed feeling a huge amount of weight fall of his shoulder's.

He was taken back when he heard the throaty laughter that escaped from the woman's lips. He saw she was cackling at a dangerously close distance to him and he crawled even more towards the back feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh… if only you knew." She laughed. "Out of all of them _. I'm the worst._ "

* * *

Moment's later she stepped out and clapped her hands together getting rid of the dust in them. Now outside Daryl, Dale, Andrea, Shane and Rick stood together waiting for the doctor's verdict.

"Well?" Rick said hands on his hips.  
"Did he sing?" Daryl asked simultaneously.  
"Like a bird," she said with a slight grin.  
"He confessed he's been traveling with a heavily-armed group of about 30 people or so. He says the men are rapist that they rave and scavenge everything they encounter. However, he claims he " _ain't like that_ "", she said scoffing shaking her head.  
"Goodness…" Rick bowed down his head rubbing the bridge of his nose anxiously.  
"What did you do to him?" He asked concerned for the man's sanity.  
"Nothing," she said casually. "Just _talked_."  
"That man is a threat. We have to kill him," Rick suddenly said looking up at the group.

"What?" Dale suddenly gasped taking a step forward into the conversation. "You can't just decide on your own to take someone's life!" he objected.  
"There has to be another way-" he began.  
"Actually-" The doctor interrupted.

Instantly, Andrea's eyes narrowed at the woman.

"That man is as good as dead. If his said violent group doesn't kill him for being a snitch, the man's going to croak either way. That wound on his leg, it's infected, shouldn't be long till the fever consumes him and he's out."

They all looked at her with wide eyes she simply raised her eyebrows as in a goodbye and walked away. "This group spends way to much time and energy on pointless issues that could've been easily avoided," she uttered With that clap back she casually turned away and walked back to the camp.  
Daryl looked up at the sky wondering what his brother would think of this entire situation. As much as he hated to admit it Sloane was right. This was downright ridiculous and now with Carol gone and Lori missing the camp was even weaker.  
It was clear to see that Rick was beginning to lose his mind, Shane raging around camp wasn't helping either.

Andrea watched the doctor casually greet some of the campers and when she thought no one was looking she snuck into the forest in broad daylight.

'Hmm…' she thought suspiciously. It seemed to go right under Shane's nose as he engaged in a passionate discussion with Dale and Rick.

It was only moments later that Dale found himself at the edge of the property where Daryl had set up his camp. Here he stood in an attempt to convince the redneck to join his cause to save Randall.  
He heard some shuffling and looked up with the smallest smile. He raised his eyes ready to greet Sloane but was instead greeted with the sight of "Golden Pond" approaching him. His face instantly twisted into a scowl and he emitted a scoff.

"The whole point of me coming up here is to get away from you people," he shook his head as he continued sharpening and packing some of his arrows. Daryl had to leave _now._ The group was broken. Rick, their leader was slowly loosing his sanity. Shane was obsessive and felt entitled to the actions and opinions of everyone. They would have to fend off for two orphans. The worst part was that Sloane; the only person capable of running his camp only had allegiances to herself.

"This group is broken," he said to Dale.

* * *

Meanwhile in the depths of the woods. Sloane found herself sitting down in front of a tree. She was furiously writing in one of the new composition notebooks that Glenn had brought her.  
Her eyes were fixed on the fascinating creature before her.  
The birds roosted in the tall of the trees.

She stood up and approached the tree trunk.  
In that trunk there was somebody tied up in tight farm rope.  
It was Carol and she was dead.

Her silver hair had become dull, her eyes dotted and the color of crystals, her appearance wan and her mouth and gums had turned black.

It had been ingenious of Edwin to keep her.

Sloane finally had her first walker to closely analyze. Apparently, Edwin's original plan had been to experiment with Randal, but his death was taking too long. The fact that the Quarry Survivors were meddling with his case wasn't helping.

Thus far with just one day with the creature she had found out that they had no nerve endings so they were immune to fire. Perhaps they would die after a long time, but not immediately. They also didn't have the necessity to breath, but they had very acute senses. The creature was completely controlled and driven by their id.  
The id is a psychological personality component, which basically ensures that humans satisfy basic, urges, needs and desires. Such needs would be reproduction or in the case of the insatiable hunger that the undead feel.

She wondered if they could survive in a water environment?  
If they needed energy to continued moving?

Technically due to rigor mortis they shouldn't be able to move.  
Hell! They shouldn't be able to move because there isn't any blood or oxygen running through their veins.

She couldn't wait to start testing medicines and different chemicals on it. A wide smile stretched over her face.

Suddenly the sound of a gun cocking made her head snap back.  
Andrea stood a couple of feet behind her with her loaded gun. Both of her hands were cocked high as she pointed it to Sloane's head.

"I should've killed you when I first had the chance," she growled out reminiscing of her sister.  
"Andrea," Sloane began slowly, ready to manipulate the situation.  
"What's the problem?" She said with her arms to her sides resisting the urge to put them up. If she didn't handle this carefully it could really be her end.

"You're a monster," she growled out. "I don't know what's worse if you or those _things,_ "she said pointing at the walker behind her with her gun. "You're a monster!" She shouted violently. Her bottom lip trembling in rage.

"You disgust me. You use people and manipulate everyone so that you get your way. Always."  
"Do I?" the doctor repeated giving a step to the side. "Am I not more like the chaotic good? Everything I do is for the best of the group."  
"Liar!" She shot back, "If it were up to you, I would be gone, so would Dale Lori and God Bless her soul Carol and the children."  
"Sorry you feel that way. Andrea you're a lawyer, you can't just jump to conclusion which you know nothing about," she enlightened calmly. "I had nothing to do with Lori and Jesus knows that I tried to save Carol. In the end it was her decision."  
"It's too late to apologize," she said carefully aiming.

When suddenly she halted, her eyes going wide.

"Drop the gun Andrea Harrison," an ominous voice behind her.

Andrea could feel a sharp blade stabbing against her neck.

"Listen you pull that trigger, I will slit your throat until you die of exsanguination, gasping and pleading for your life in your last minutes in this world," Dr. Edwin Jenner hissed as he pressed the sharp blade against her pale neck.

Andrea gasped for air and swallowed her fears.  
Dr. Gadsden looked at both of them with her eyes wide.

"Andrea…" She insisted.  
It was with her last pleading that the blonde tossed her gun to the side. "Thank-" the doctor suddenly lost all ability to speak.

Edwin proceeded to gash a deep slit across her throat. He held her head up and kept the knife tearing at her jugular. Crimson blood sprayed like fountains between them before Andrea's blood-covered body seized and collapsed. He held her head tightly prying the wound open.  
Jenner had murdered her in cold blood. He simply allowed her body to drop limping to the side as she reached for her throat gasping for air.

"Edwin what-!" The doctor said her eyes wide.  
"If she didn't kill you know she would've done it later. We cannot take any unnecessary risks. You're welcome," he explained hastily.  
"Great. So what the hell do we do now? It won't be long until Dale, Shane and the others notice she's gone and come sniffing about."  
"Look, Sloane, this group is broken. Their leaders are vulnerable all of them Rick, Shane and Hershel. The only people we have to worry about are Daryl and Dale. I trust you will take care of the Dixon?"  
"Yeah…" She replied uneasily.  
"We'll play this to the best of our ability. We have to make our move. It's now or never."

* * *

Sophia was kneeling by her mother's grave. Unknown to the girl and the others in camp that grave was empty. Her real mother had turned into a living dead and was currently being tied against a tree being used as a lab rat for Dr. Gadsden's uncouth purposes.

"Do you think we'll see mom in heaven, Carl?" she asked her friend.  
"Heaven is just another lie, and if you believe it you are an idiot," he snapped back coldly. "Just like I'll never see my mom again, either."

The group had decided that Randall was to be executed tomorrow at sunrise. That way there would be less prying eyes and he would have a night to enjoy his last meal on Earth.

Sloane had been extremely jumpy, flinching at every sight and touch that there was. Adrenaline was still pumping through her body since Edwin had slayed Andrea before her eyes. The scene continued replaying in her head over and over and over again.  
Sure, she hated the woman, but she didn't deserve _that_ death.  
The shittiest part was that her last words were the name of an overrated pop song from the begging of the millennium.  
She mused she would probably kill herself again in the afterlife if those had been her final words.

What pained her the most was the fact that she couldn't tell Daryl. She had no idea how he'd react if he knew about Carol's corpse in the woods or the fact that they had murdered Andrea. She wondered how long it would take the group to notice that the blonde was missing.  
She also had that deep, dark secret she had been keeping. The fact that they were all infected.

"You're acting weirder than usual," he commented eyeing her curiously. "Am I?" she said without a trace of emotion in her voice.

He kept his eyes focused on her.

"Daryl, there's something you need to know-" she began looking at him with fearful eyes. They were interrupted by Dale's blood curling scream which echoed from the back of the camp.

The doctor and the hunter immediately jolted to the scene were they found Dale lying on the grass with a walker tearing at the guts of his stomach.  
Without any hesitation Daryl stabbed the walker in the head.

"Help!" he shouted.

Sloane became immobile. It was Andrea.

Her heart began racing.

Andrea had eaten Dale.

"Doctor!" He turned to face her.

She looked down and saw that Dale's intestines were spilling out of his gut. He wasn't responding he was in shock.

"There's nothing I can do," she said shaking her head, eyes still as wide as saucers. Soon Hershel, Rick and the rest of the camp gathered around the scene.

"He can't be saved," Hershel restated.  
"Is that Andrea?" Maggie said bringing her hand to her mouth to cover her horrified expression. The doctor kept her eyes glued to the floor. She didn't dare make eye contact with Edwin.

"How-How could this happen?" Glenn asked with his mouth agape.

"There's only something we can do about it," Sloane said turning to look at Rick.

Rick reached for his gun an aimed it to Dale's forehead. His eyes pleading to be put out of his misery. He couldn't find it in himself to pull the trigger.  
Instead Daryl took the weapon ready to aim.  
Dale flashed him the faintest smile reassuring him of his choice.

"Sorry, brother."

The gunshot echoed the eardrums of the Quarry Survivors and the Greene Family. The doctor looked at the corpses before her apprehensively.  
One by one her enemies were beginning to collapse. Her fist clenched tightly at her sides. She felt a pair of heavy eyes on her and cocked her head to the side to see Shane glaring at her with intensity burning in his dark eyes.

Things were about to get a lot worse...


	14. Chapter 14

**Day 82:**

Location: [Greene Farm]

"I just don't get it," Jaqui said shaking her head. "Why would Andrea be out by herself? And without a weapon?"

* * *

 _"What the fuck do we do with her fucking gun?" Sloane spat out through gritted teeth. "Did you even bother thinking this through?!"  
"Don't be ungrateful now," Jenner only glared. "I had to think quickly."_

Both of the doctors were arguing above the corpse of the blonde.

"Here's what we are going to do," Jenner began.  
"We have to put the gun back in the RV. If people know that she left with her gun that means that she felt threatened. Second- she has to have bite marks on her. They can't know that we are all infected," both of their eyes turned to Carol who was struggling against the tree her body writhing as she hissed and growled for food.

"I hope Carol is hungry."

"Wait!" the doctor interrupted. "Before we do this. We have to take off our clothes."

"What?" Edwin looked at her shocked. "Have you gone mad?"

The doctor was already removing her blouse when he looked at her.

"If we move the body we are going to be covered in blood. If we are covered in blood people will instantly know we did something bad… It's a miracle we've kept our clothes clean thus far."

Edwin nodded and they both stripped off to their underwear.  
Both doctors hoisted the body up in their arms. The body was still warm.

"We have to do this fast because this bitch is going to turn any minute now."  
"They have to find her as a walker. If they don't. They will come looking for the body," Edwin concluded. "Do you agree?"  
"Agreed," she said.

"Bon appetite."

He stretched out Andrea's limp arm before the undead and Carol began to greedily gnaw on the arm.

* * *

"Walkers are beginning to crowd the area," Daryl said sighing.  
"We have to prepare for the coming winter. Specially in case Lori returns," Rick said trailing off.  
"Hershel has been more than supportive in allowing us to stay here for the winter."

"I think we should leave," Sloane suddenly butted.  
She really didn't like the farm. It reminded her of all the people she hated and how it had lead to their mutual destruction.  
Her eyes flashed back to Andrea's corpse right after her and Jenner took her life. It reminded her of the secret she was keeping from everyone. The fact that they were al infected and would turn unless she found a cure for the virus.

"Why?" Rick asked. "Lori might be back soon..."

There was a tense silence within the group.

"Honestly, have you guys seen the swarms of those things? The herds? We wouldn't stand a chance with them. Even inside a barricaded home," she explained.  
"Ha!" Jaqui laughed it seemed like she had returned to normal. Even if she didn't need of Kaiser's company anymore. "So what do you propose girl?"  
"I-I don't know. Someplace that's hard to get into. Perhaps we are better off being caged away from the world. A football or baseball stadium, maybe," she said running a hand nervously though her hair avoiding the topic. _'South Carolina…' A voice behind her head echoed._

"I guess it's settled then. Let's get to work," Daryl said clapping his hands together.  
"We have to begin gathering supplies for the winter, clearing up the nearby property of nearby walkers, and fixing up the RV just in case. With the nearby swamp drying up and the cattle herds nearby there is no doubt that more and more of them will come this way," he explained.

Part of Sloane was proud of him. She had never seen Daryl being treated and respected as a leader and she was happy that the others in the group had finally realized this. Another part of her was crumbling under the weight of her deep, dark, secrets.

Meanwhile, in the other side of camp consumed by his rage, and the insanity of having lost Lori, Shane snuck into Randall's cell without anyone's consent. Just like Jenner he took Randall to the depths of the woods and murdered him in cold blood. Randall died with his neck snapped.  
Shane was only blowing steam off. He knew that the doctor was responsible for Andrea and Dale's death. She was smart. He had to plan his next moves carefully. Living was like a sickening game of chess for her and unlucky her, he was ready to retaliate.  
In this world it was _kill or be killed._ Shane wasn't about to go down at the hands of the vile woman.

The group was currently fixing up the camp. They were putting up a new fence in the edges of the property in order to keep walkers out. When suddenly Shane came sprinting into the group's view. Half of his face was swollen and bruised with a deep gash across it.  
He claimed that Randall had escaped out of his bindings and had attacked him and taken his gun. Fearing the worst. Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn took the German shepherd to look for Randall. The rest of the group retreated to the house where the Greene family was.

"-And that's it." Sloane said as she put a lid on the mason jar.  
"That's my grandma's recipe for pickled peaches," she said with a small smile.

Carl, Sophia, Jaqui and T-Dog suddenly walked into the house with exhausted faces. "What's going on?" Maggie asked as she washed her hands from the smell of vinegar.

"Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Shane headed out to look for Randall. Apparently he escaped and is running wild all over the farm with Shane's gun," T-Dog explained casually.

"Wait-What?" Dr. Jenner said blinking twice.  
"That's impossible." Dr. Gadsden added.

Sloane immediately knew that it was a lie. T-Dog proceeded to explain the story how Shane had told it. The medics exchanged a look it was such a painful lie.

1\. Daryl did Randall's bindings himself there was no absolute way that he could've just "broken free" from them.  
2\. Why would Randall attack Shane? If anything he would run away by himself before anyone else stopped him.  
3\. He can't do much with a limp leg. He definitely could not have been able to take Shane in a fist fight.

"So, what happened?" Hershel asked curiously.  
"They just split if you want to catch up to them. Daryl and Glenn went to one side of the woods and Rick and Shane went the other," T-Dog shrugged. Everyone's attention turned to Sloane when they heard the sound of glass shattering. A mason jar had slipped through her hands. Her face was as pale as a sheet and without further notice she tore out of the door.

Everyone exchanged a confused look inside of the house. Jenner licked his lips nervously. "I guess someone is eager to contribute," he said with an awkward chuckle.

Dusk was beginning to set on the farmland. Sloane ran as fast as her legs could take her. Pushing and aching every step forward to the woods. She hoped it wasn't too late.

Thankfully, she reached the scene just in time.

Carol's moving corpse was still tightly wrapped around the body of a tree the only evidence that showed she had been there earlier was her satchel with all of her notebooks and research. She immediately picked it up and wrapped it around her arm.

"Thank God," relief washed over her as she ran her hands through her face.

 _"-Died of a broken neck. None of those bastards had bit him."_

It was Daryl.

 _"I don't understand why he turned."_

Glenn was with him.

She immediately felt a chill run up her fine and her entire body stiffened. She didn't dare move an inch. As soon as she heard their voices fade she gave a step back sighing in relief.  
She couldn't believe her luck. It had been so close- Leaves around her began to furiously crunch. She heard panting and throttling and turned just in time to see Kaiser approaching her. He barked and wagged his tail as he pounced on his owner. She felt like shooting the animal.

"KAIS-!" She lost her voice when Daryl and Glenn followed her dog to the scene of the crime. Her eyes went wide in fear.

Glenn and Daryl went speechless. They saw her. They saw Carol tied up against the tree. They saw the blood mud on the floor. They saw _everything._

"It's now what it looks like," was the first thing the doctor managed to cough up.

 _It was exactly what it looked like._

"What the fuck?!" Daryl said become immediately defensive.  
"What happened here?" Glenn asked raising his gun in fear.  
"Please, please, lower your gun," she begged.  
"Let me expla-" Daryl didn't allow her to finish her sentence. From where he was standing Daryl shot an arrow at the walker.

 _Headshot.  
_  
"She was your friend!" he roared. "How could you do this to Carol?! She didn't do anything to anyone!"  
"Why is there so much blood?" Glenn said stepping over the maroon, tar like mixture that coated the ground. An expression of horror on his rounded features.

"Where you planning on just takin' this to yer grave?" the interrogation continued.

"Listen!" she said finally setting her foot down. Her dog stepping away from her cautiously. " _This_ is what happened. _"  
_ "Carol passed. She was bit. I had nothing to do with that. There is no possible way that I could've done or prevented that. After she passed Edwin and I kept her here. For observation. Purely scientific," she said as her heart began hammering faster and faster, she almost felt like she was being asphyxiated.

"And the blood?" Glenn pressed.

"I was working-"  
"Christ." Glenn said bringing his hand to his face. "I can't believe you call this _work_ ," he mumbled.  
"I was working," the doctor began again. "Andrea must have followed me to the woods. I really don't know what she was doing here. Point is she was going to kill me. She had her gun up and was itching to pull the trigger. So Edwin killed her. It was purely self-defense."

"If it was self-defense then why did you stage it as an accident?" Glenn was outraged.

Daryl hadn't said a single word. He only kept his cold eyes fixed on the doctor's.

"Daryl… Please say something," she pleaded.

His silence was haunting.

"I swear, I was going to tell you," she said her voice cracking.

Without a trace of emotion on his face he simply turned his back on her and walked away.

"I can't believe this inhumanity!" Glenn shouted following after the hunter. She was about to follow after them when the sudden sound of a gunshot echoed the darkness of the forest. That had to be Rick!

The men rushed back towards the farmhouse. Sloane remained in the forest sobbing.

This was it.

It was over.

 **Day 83:**

 **Location: [Greene Farmhouse]  
**  
It was past midnight when Glenn and Daryl made way to the farmhouse. Sloane remained alone in the woods.  
They were currently reporting the death of Randall to the group, Andrea's murder and the grim discovery of Carol's corpse in the woods.

"You knew about this?" Rick turned to face Dr. Jenner.  
"Ofcourse I knew about it," he said almost scoffing.  
"I'm the one who planned it all," he said casually.  
"You have to understand that as inhumane as it may seem, that thing was not Carol anymore, and it was wholly for scientific research."

"But you killed Andrea you bastard!" Maggie shouted as she raised a gun to his face. "You're a murder!" She hissed.

Sophia was suddenly brought to tears and hugged Beth who was closest to her.

"I'm not," Edwin said keeping his stoic expression.  
"Andrea has attempted to kill Dr. Gadsden before. Hell- she even shot at Dixon," he said musing.  
"Andrea was down on her luck that day because as soon as I reached the scene I found her with her gun, her finger twitching about to kill Sloane. It was an act of self-defense."

 _It wasn't._

"Because of Andrea, Dale got bit!" T-Dog pressed.  
"How do you know he didn't want to be bit?" Jenner retorted.  
"We all know Dale loved Andrea more than anything. I would see them sneaking smiles and kisses around the campgrounds. He even risked his life going back to her when- erm – when I put us all at risk back at the CDC. You can't just assume it was an accident. It could have been, perhaps not. Maybe he wanted to be with her like that. Forever."

Rick ran both hands through his head in stress. His wife was missing; half of the group was dead and now this? He exhaled and turned his head looking outside the window, _and Shane…_  
He felt his blood run cold and his jaw dropped. At the outskirts of the farm was a massive herd of walkers approaching. There must have been atleast fifty of them!

"Shit!" he shouted. Everyone in the house began to panic.

The entire group ran to gather their weapons and began getting on their vehicles. It was time to fight back. Even Hershel went out to fight.

"Where is Sloane?!" said Edwin running out of the house.  
Without saying another word Daryl jumped on Merle's motorcycle and headed to the forest. He hoped it wasn't too late.

* * *

Sloane was currently sitting under a tree next to Carol's tied up corpse. She had spent most of the evening here in her solitude. She had run out of tears to cry. She felt like all she did now a days was cry.  
It was such a depressing circumstance.  
For a moment she wished that she had become stuck in the apocalypse in California where people would be probably more liberal and able to support her scientific endeavors.

Rumbling in the darkness approached her and she turned to face a brilliant light approaching her. The motorcycle was more than familiar, she already knew who it was.

"Get on the bike!" The man shouted.  
"No," she replied dully. "Why are you even here? Did you come back to give me the silent treatment, on how I'm such a burden to humanity and what I did to Carol was inhumane? How what happened to Andrea was my fault? Even if she's tried to-"

"WOMAN JUMP ON!" He repeated again.  
"NO. You listen to me Daryl Dixon!" He jumped off his motorcycle.  
"EVEN if she's tried to kill me before, and also-"

He grabbed her by the arms roughly pulling her back to the motorcycle. "Don't tell me what to do!" She struggled against him pushing against his chest.

"Listen!" He snapped exasperated still not taking his hands off her.  
"A herd of those motherless bastards are headed right over here right now. So you best get on that motorcycle _right now_ so that we can get the fuck out of here!"

She took a moment and looked at his concerned expression.

"No," she said sternly. Standing her ground.  
"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?" He roared. "Do you have a death wish?!"

She felt like that was a question he often asked her.

"No. I don't even know why you're here-"

He grabbed on to her shoulders and forcefully kissed her. Before she could push him away he pulled back.

"On-the-bike," He spat through his gritted teeth between ragged breaths. Both of his hands on her head. "Now," he finished.

She stood immobilized by his formidable gaze.

"I hate that you're like this, and I hate that I can't make you safe, and I hate that-" Suddenly from behind them she heard them. The branches cracking and the growls of the hungry undead.

Without a second word they both hopped on the motorcycle and sped out of the scene. From the distance they could see that the barn had set on fire.  
Walkers overran the RV nearby. Hershel stood outside of his home defending his property, holding a rifle shooting the approaching walkers.

Daryl turned around and headed towards the exit of the property.

The farm had been overrun. Complete disarray loomed all over the land.  
In the midst of all the chaos Sloane couldn't make out where Rick or the others were. Between the fire, smoke, debris and the roaming undead she didn't even know where or what to look at. Daryl and the doctor debated on what to do for a minute, failing to reach a conclusion they decided to leave. The barn burnt vibrantly, dancing with hues of orange, crimson and yellow. It burnt brightly in the distance. Together, they rode away. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Day 82:**

Location: [Middle of the Nowhere in Some Woods, GA]

It wasn't long till the dawn crawled up into the skies tinting it with hues of salmon shifting to gray and bright azure.  
The Quarry Survivors group had been scattered across the farmlands into different cells and teams. Some members of the Greene family had also joined them.

The doctor currently found herself on the edge of her seat. Literally.  
She was currently riding in the back of Merle's motorcycle with Daryl.  
She hadn't been able to relax or even close her eyes at the events that had just transpired. Her hands tightly clenched the leather in the Dixon's jacket.  
Once again they had lost everything. The only thing was able to carry was her satchel with her water canteen and her medical journals, which were her life. They had both grown used to passing walkers as they advanced through the forest.

"Where are we going?" She suddenly asked, not moving her head from resting on his back.  
"Away. To South Carolina, just you and me," he answered flatly.  
"Wait. What?" she picked up her head and held him even tighter.  
"What do you mean to South Carolina?"

He turned to look at her confused, "I thought it was the plan."  
"It is." She said her eyes dropping to the ground. "But we can't leave without them."

Daryl blinked twice taken back by her decision. He was so shocked he brought the motorcycle to a halt. He was still upset about the events that had transpired with Carol's corpse in the woods earlier. However, in the apocalypse there really wasn't enough time to linger on past resentments.

"We're a clan," she said suddenly.  
"We work together and we stick together to survive. Winter is coming and we have to gather resources to make it there in one piece. It's more than four hours driving to South Carolina, that's a lot of gas," she finished with the smallest of smiles.

The edge of his lip slightly turned up. In an instant he turned his motorcycle and made way south towards the highway.

* * *

Somehow, someway, call it fate or destiny, the group slowly but surely found each other and they all returned to the meeting point.  
The clan had been reunited.  
Tears were spilled and what was left of the Greene family hugged.  
Glenn had returned so had T-Dog. Sophia, Carl, Rick and Jaqui and of course Daryl and Sloane.

To everyone's surprise Lori was also there.

"I can't believe my eyes," Sloane said as they both jumped off the motorcycle.  
Rick shook Daryl's hand and Carl was crying into his mother's lap.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl.  
Rick was beaming he kept a tight arm around his newly-found wife's waist.

"Well, those guys' rail lights zigzagging all over the road- figured he had to be Asian, driving like that."

Everyone laughed. The ambiance immediately felt lighter and everyone became more at ease.

"Good one," said Glenn grinning.

"The only thing I want to know is- Lori, _what happened to you?"_ The doctor suddenly said with her eyes narrowed.

The woman had disappeared off the face of the Earth for about three whole days. She had no weapons, no ammo, no actual defense skills, and no outstanding intellect that could have saver her. And yet she stood there as if she had been frozen in time, without a single scratch on her.

 _Lori began telling her story.  
She explained to the group that when she set off to look for Rick and the others in the town she crashed into a walker and lost control of the car. Her car flipped over and she was knocked out by the crash.  
When she woke up she was no longer in the car, she was in a small cabin room God-knows-where and she claimed that a man had rescued her._ _  
_ _  
"He-He was the most peculiar man I had ever met," Lori said shaking her head. "Did he do anything to you?" asked Jaqui who had her hands resting on Sophia's shoulders.  
"No," Lori said pursuing her lips. "He was a Brit and-"_

"The Cat-Man!" Sophia suddenly exclaimed. All eyes turned to face her confused. "The Cat-Man. He had two different colored eyes like my cat."

"Yes! He was the man that saved you, right?" Lori said with a broad smile. _  
_  
…You know those moments when you are suddenly hit so awestruck that you feel the floor falls beneath you and you look up and to the sides, but suddenly everyone and everything surrounding you becomes incomprehensible scenery. It was one of those moments for our female protagonist. She felt her heart had stopped. Her hands became clamming and faintly trembled.

Lori continued her story.

 _"He was a true British gentleman. He never told me his name, but he fed me, gave me to drink, allowed me to sleep on his bed. He claimed he was headed north, that's all he said," Lori said shrugging casually._

Sloane felt her stomach churning. Daryl turned to look at her with curiosity her face had withdrawn of all color and her malaise was visible.  
 _  
"I asked him to take me to the farm, but I didn't know where it was so he left me-"  
_ _  
_All eyes turned to the doctor as she bend over to the side and violently regurgitated the contents of her loose stomach. Daryl stood behind her eyeing her cautiously. She pressed both of her shaking hands against a nearby car as she leaned forward.

"Where's Jenner?" she said gasping before anyone could say anything else.

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked after a moment as to look around.  
"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick replied, still eyeing the doctor curiously.

There was a passing silence.

"Shane?" asked Lori suddenly standing up. Rick only shook his head. She looked down both of her eyes showed some hidden pain.

"Shane, he… He killed Randall, and then he tried to kill me. So Carl shot him, but he ran off into the forest. I-I don't know where he is. I don't even know if he's with life," Rick said uneasily running a hand through his hair.  
"So you mean he's just out there?!" Lori said wide eyed.  
"I mean, I don't know-" Rick said 100% uncertain.

Patricia and Jimmy had both fallen. Patricia got bit and Jim was overrun.

"And Jenner?" asked Glenn looking at everyone uneasily.  
"We lost him," Jaqui said shaking her head. "Did you see him?" Glenn asked again. Sloane felt her mouth go dry. "There were a lot of walkers, it was dark," Jaqui explained.  
"We saw him go down," T-Dog said sadly as he leaved on the door of the truck.

Sloane then noticed that Kaiser was gone. Her heart sank at the thought of her dog being gone. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her confidant, her friend, he was also gone.

Noticing the expression on the doctor's face he jumped back on his motorcycle. "I'm goanna go back," he stated.

Discussion began. Should we go back? Should we not? Everyone was speaking over the doctor until she finally raised her voice.

"He wouldn't want us to go back." She suddenly said, everyone's eyes turned to her. "I knew Edwin very well. He wouldn't want us to risk chances like that, not for him…" She trailed off her attention focusing on a single walker that was headed towards them.  
"-And Shane… We don't even know. After he attacked Rick, is it even safe to consider going for him?" Glenn pointed.

"We gotta keep moving, we got walkers crawling all over here," Rick finally announced concluding the argument.  
"I say head east," T-Dog suggested.  
"Stay off the main roads," Daryl added. "The bigger the road, the more walkers."

Sloane felt completely terrified. She hadn't bothered to listen or even contribute to the group discussion. The only thing that she was aware of was that: 1) _He_ was really here, and 2) Shane was still out there, somewhere.

"-more assholes like this one," she heard Daryl say as he shot an arrow through the undead's head.

* * *

A man sprinted deeper into the tall woods. Shades of vermillion, orange and brown blurred his vision. His breath was short and he loaded ammo into his rifle ready to shoot down some of the walkers that were hunting him.  
Edwin had Rick's ammo bag swung over his shoulder, he currently stopped behind a tree.

"Dammit," he cursed when he realized he was running low on his ammunition arsenal. A walker slid past the tree and Jenner reacted and smashed its skull against the bark of the tree.  
He looked around swiftly and continued running. There were more of them headed way.

"Shit!" he cursed.

He turned and continued shooting, missing some shots.  
' _THUD_!' he suddenly felt a blistering pain on his temple and he collapsed.  
Jenner had collapsed. From the bottom he looked up and in his distorted, kaleidoscope vision, he saw the mug of a bruised man with a broken face.

"Bastard. Let me show you how it's really done."

It was former officer Shane Walsh.

With a deadly accuracy he easily shot most of them.  
Jenner twisted his body and began to regain his position back on his feet.

"Funny thing about the apocalypse is, you don't have to be the smartest, the toughest, or the fastest to survive," Shane said as he turned to face Edwin.  
"You just have to be faster than the next guy."

* * *

The Greene Farm survivor caravan advanced into the southeast of Georgia.  
The doctor was shook. "Are you alright?" Daryl had asked.  
"Yeah," she answered seriously. "It's nothing," she said burying her head into his back.

Seeing she didn't want to talk about it he simply let it slide. The group suddenly pulled over. The surroundings trees had started to turn shades of yellow, red and ochre as they announced the coming autumn. The decaying of life could be so beautiful sometimes.  
Leaves had fallen everywhere decorating the fields and the lonely roads.

The caravan stopped. Rick pulled over.  
They were running low on resources, weapons, gasoline.  
The group was stranded. The children were complaining about the cold.  
Rick refused to let the group separate again.

"There's gotta be a place, not only where we can hole up, but where we fortify. Hunker down. Build a life together! I know it's out there we just have to find it," Rick said as he walked around cautiously.

"Even if we find a place. How long will it be safe? We can never be sure," Maggie commented acknowledging the reality that they were living in.

Sloane had been droning everything they were saying her mind was still running wild with assumptions and ideas of where Jenner could be, if Shane was still alive, and where and what was it that _he_ wanted.  
She had stepped off the motorcycle to stretch her legs and get some air.  
The doctor faced the opposite way of the group with both of her palms pressed against her lower back, as she took deep, calming breaths.  
She could hear the discussion the group currently engaging in and didn't find herself in a participating mood. It was until Daryl revealed that Shane had killed on Randall and that he had turned  
Sloane could feel it again the nausea creeping on her insides.  
She had become so preoccupied with other matters that she had completely forgotten about the secret knowledge she had been suppressing, maintaining and keeping from the rest of the world.

"How is that possible?" Lori asked.

There was a deafening silence as Rick shook his head, unsure of what had happened. The air filled with tension. His mind pondered and questioned the scenario confused at the biology behind the disease.

"Rick how is that possible?" Beth repeated.

"We're all infected," Doctor Sloane suddenly confessed.

No one moved, no one said a word. Sloane could feel all eyes on her back glaring daggers. It had come out like word vomit. Almost like a bark, like she had spat out one long word.

"What?" Daryl asked suddenly breaking the silence. She didn't dare look back at him.

"We are all infected," she repeated as she turned to face them and their looks of dismay.

"Jenner told me at the C.D.C., I saw the blood samples myself," she breathed in defeat.  
"Why do you all think I have been so adamant and obsessive about researching this _goddam virus_?" The doctor added raising her voice a slip of her original southern accent displaying with her anger.

"I had been working with Edwin and his wife during my first week in Georgia. The only thing we know of the disease, which I have named the _Nekros Apodosis_ or, NAV, is that it is a virus and it is airborne. Meaning that you don't have to be bitten to become infected. Once you die, and your immune system stops fighting it. It takes over. One thing sure is we are all carriers."

She looked at T-Dog's wide eyes at how Maggie shifted uncomfortably with a frown on her face. Daryl's mouth was ajar.  
"And you didn't say anything?" Daryl said in disbelief.

"Would it have made a difference?" she shrugged not removing her glued eyes from the floor. All of her courage had just vanished into thin air. She had worked so hard to keep this to herself. Foolish of her, it would've only been a matter of time until the cat was out of the bag.

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn pressed. His expression showed pure anger. The doctor only nodded her head.

"It was unnecessary information. Me telling you would only cause panic and havoc. I can't make a difference yet-" She paused before taking a deep breath.

"That is not your call!" Glenn said, his eyes flashed with betrayal.  
"When I found out about the walkers in the barn I told, for the good of everyone."

Daryl kept his eyes narrowed.

"Dr. Gadsden did what she felt was right. I agree with her. It's not like we can do anything about it," Rick defended the doctor. She briefly turned her eyes to him and flashed him a thankful smile.

The entire camp went mute as the realization sank. The doctor licked her lips swallowing nervously. She saw that Daryl immediately walked away from the group. She sighed, _'not this again.'_

"You were right," she suddenly said creeping behind him, both hands in her pockets.  
"About what?" he said coldly as he turned to face her.

She looked at him one last time. Wondering if she would regret what she was about to say to him. His face was stained with blood and grime, and he wore a dark long sleeve shirt and matching pants. A sleeveless jacket that had the print of angel wings on its back. It suited him.

He kept his icy eyes fixed on her. They had been narrowed to angry slits.

"You're not good at this feeling thing… I don't think _this_ is going to work out," she said looking at him with numb eyes. Her lips had set into a serious line.

"Of all the things you didn't tell me. You thought not telling me this was a good idea?" He spat.  
"Wasn't it? Weren't you at least content with the idea that this wasn't happening to you?"

He didn't respond keeping his silence.

"I hope that you can at least understand the _'why'_ of my obsession for finding a cure. For curing the group, everyone. For curing _you_."

With that she turned on her heel and returned to the group.

Suddenly his chest felt really tight. It hurt. It pained him to see her walk away. Sloane was usually wrong, but this time she was dead right.  
He stood completely still for a moment, immobile in an attempt to contain the pain and anger that was bubbling inside him.

"Dammit!" He thundered. "Godamit!" he cried out in rage as he dramatically slammed his knuckles against an unfortunate nearby tree.

* * *

Later that night the group gathered around a small fire pit.  
T-Dog kept guard of the perimeter. A bright full moon shone above the camp. For such a terrible day the night was beautiful. The fire cracked and burned brightly in the midst of the darkness.

The Greene family huddled for warmth. Lori held both Carl and Sophia close together in her arms.

"I can see my mistake now," Jaqui suddenly said.  
"We're not safe with her in the group," She said in a low voice so that only Daryl could hear, but everyone in the small perimeter heard her.  
"Keeping something like that from us… and then she killed Andrea!"

"We don't need her. She's just going to pull us down and then she'll kill us one by one as however she sees fit," Jaqui murmured with both of her eyes narrowed as she blathered disgusted.

"No," Daryl said in a calm voice.  
"Sloane's done all right by me, and we all saw how Andrea kept on pointing that gun to her head. I believe Jenner did kill her in self defense," he said exhaling.

Here he was, and despite it all he still defended her.

"You're only saying that because you're _involved_ with her. You deserve better," Jaqui huffed.

"What do you want?" he spat venomously feeling disgusted by Jaqui's remarks.  
"I want a safe camp. Where we have leaders and comrades who we have trust and have honor," said with hard eyes.  
"Maybe if you stopped bitchin' and opened your eyes you'd see that she means well," he said standing up. Growing sick of the woman's comments.

At the same time the Greene family was discussing plans of taking their chances until Hershel shot them all down. Suddenly the sound of something wondering around the darkness nearby startled the group.

"What was that?" Beth asked as she held her father closer.  
"Could be anything," Daryl answered in an attempt to keep the group calm. "Could be a raccoon, a possum-"  
"Walker," Glenn said immediately jumping both to his feet and conclusions.

The group began to panic. They began to talk over each other about leaving about the fear of being in the open wild.

Out from the shrubs came out Dr. Gadsden.

The doctor was confused for a moment. Yet stood right next to Rick.  
Lori was trying to calm down her son. T-Dog looked at the group carefully.

"And where were you?" Glenn asked suspiciously.  
"I was trying to use the moonlight to be able to read this map better," she said slapping the map in her other hand. "There's a fireplace right here, why did you have to go over there?" Jaqui asked suspiciously.  
"So I don't have to hear ya'll talking shite about me," she said with a tight-lipped smile. Everyone looked at her a little taken back. Was that.. a southern accent she was slipping?

Rick looked at her expectancy, so did T-Dog.

"Thinking of leaving?" Daryl coughed out glaring at her with hateful eyes. Numbed she held her head high and arched her back so that she appeared even mightier in the eyes of the other.

"Listen." Rick suddenly snapped standing his ground.  
"Dr. Gadsden's hands are clean! I believe she was faced with no choice. We shouldn't be so rash on our judgment," he explained in an attempt to appease his people.

"Maybe you people think you are better off without her," Rick suddenly announced. She turned to look at him with her eyes wide. "But Dr. Gadsden did fine by me."  
"She can't fight, she can't scavenge, and she can't lead Rick! Open your eyes! She's manipulating you, just like she played all of us," Glenn said in disgust shooting daggers at her.

She bit her tongue in an attempt not to snap back, and to think Glenn was one of the few people she actually liked.  
Suddenly there was that noise, rustling in the unknown parts of the wilderness. People began growing nervous. Panic began consuming them.

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark," Rick said darkly.

"We don't have the vehicles."

"No one's traveling on foot."

"Don't panic."

People don't listen. The panic continued. The group had no shelter and no means of transportation. There was no way of going anywhere.

"Do something!" Lori begged Rick.  
"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive!" Rick suddenly snapped. It was obvious that the insanity was beginning to consume him.

"I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I almost lost my family, my wife! I shot at my best friend. I _almost_ killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!"

The only sound that could be heard was the quiet cracking on the fire lumber as it was engulfed and consumed by the bright embers.

"You-You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us," he made eye contact with the doctor whose eyes remained sharp and focused. "He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He was my best friend, but he came after me and now I know that he's capable of coming after any of us."

Rick ceased speaking and paused to look at the survivors. He noted that the doctor was the only person in the group that appeared to be unfazed. Instead of looking terrified she appeared to be pensive.

"As for the doctor, her hands are clean," He finished explaining breathlessly.

They thought that was the end of it, but it seemed like there was no end to it.

"Maybe you people are better off without me," he continued.

"Go ahead!" He roared. "I say there's a place for us, but maybe, maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe, maybe, I'm fooling myself again.

Why don't you- Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get. No takers? Fine." He spoke erratically like a madman.

It was official Rick had lost his humanity.

"But get one thing straight you're staying," he said dramatically.

"This isn't a democracy anymore," he finished with a menacing look in his eyes. Lori put her hands over both of the children's heads. The Greene all looked at Rick with wide eyes. No one dared speak. Only a true imbecil would challenge him at this point.

"Rick," someone began.

All daunting looks immediately snapped to the doctor who stepped forward next to the fuming man. Lori would never confess it, but at this point she feared that Rick would do something to the doctor.

"What? Do you have anything to add to that?! Like I said if you think you are better off on your own be my guest!" He challenged, screeching like a maniacally.

"No," she said rolling her tongue slowly. He was taken back at how calm the woman remained. She would never confessed, but the meltdown that Rick had just had, ever since this hell began it had been like that inside of her head every single day. "I have a proposition to make," she stated cooly.

"I'm taking over."

It wasn't even a proposition. It was more of a statement. The group began to grow more and more uneasy and uncertain of their leadership.

Rick began snorting in what she assumed was humor. "Are you crazy?" He laughed. "Funny, coming from you," she said raising both of her brows in wonder. "You can't even 'fend for yourself and you expect to protect and provide for these people?" He asked.  
"What do you do if they press a gun to your head?" He snapped suddenly pulling his gun pressing the mouth to the bottom of her chin.

She saw that the others were becoming uneasy. Both Daryl and Glenn jumped to their feet. Lori screamed, T-Dog hopped down from his position as night watcher.

"You shoot them before they can shoot you," she answered slowly.  
Rick heard the click of a gun and looked down to see the gun that had once belonged to Andrea in her hand and it was pointed directly at his crotch.

"Alright, we can talk in peace. No need for guns," Hershel said cautiously with warning eyes. Both of them put their weapons away.

"Rick, you didn't ask for this. You can't do this anymore. You have a family to fend for and a baby to be ready for," she began as she stuck Andrea's weapon in her back pocket.

"Are you proposing you'll become our _leader_?" Maggie asked looking at the woman almost in disbelief.

"No," she said swiftly. "I take that back, this is no longer a proposal. I'm taking over," she stated. "Think about it, it is for the greater good of the group."

"How do we know this isn't a scam?" Glenn confronted. "That you are not using us like last time?"  
"You promised you'd save us all. That'd you'd find a cure and I have seen none of it. Liar," Jaqui hissed in an accusing tone.

"I'm a human, just like you all," she began. "I may not be the best fighter, hunter, or scavenger. Hell, God knows I'm not perfect and I am not a weapon," she turned to face Daryl who avoided her gaze.

There was a brief pause in her speech.

"The only advantage I have is my brain. My only affinity is that I'm a thinker. I know that it may not sound like much, but I can assure you that if you want to be stuck with someone in the apocalypse it's me."

Jaqui visibly rolled her eyes at the speech. T-Dog kept his eyes focused on the woman so did the Greene family. Glenn wasn't listening. Maggie was unsure of what to think and Daryl kept his eyes averted from hers _._

"There is a place that is safe. It has been safe for the last 300 years. Back in the olden days even the Chickasaw couldn't get through." She began explaining. This caught Rick's interest.

"Where is this place?" he asked.

"It's my home, and I want you all to come with me," she announced benevolently.

This night was just getting worse and worse.  
The people became confused.

"As most of you know I'm from South Carolina. I grew up in Crescent Haven Hall, perhaps you've heard of it. My great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy, the first Gadsden in the Americas, settled it and named it that because of its crescent shape geography. It is a settlement in an irregular archipelago that is built on a hill. It has been in my family for 8 generations. It has survived hurricanes, earthquakes even the Civil War. _I know_ that we will be safe there and I open this invitation to you with open arms."

"Cut the bullshit. We all know how you can toy with people," Jaqui suddenly snapped.

Regardless she kept her cool. Noble-Prize recipients in global conferences before had grilled Sloane before; Jaqui's comment was nothing but a meaningless splinter on her backside.

"I'm not lying." She said softly clenching her fist "I mean it."  
"She's telling the truth," Daryl suddenly muttered.

She looked at him, but he avoided her grateful eye contact. The way he avoided her, it felt like he was twisting a knife in insides.

"South Carolina? But it would take us gas to get there and resources and it's what? Like a day away?" Herschel said listening carefully.

He seemed to be the only one that wasn't being biased or judgmental.

"I wasn't done speaking," she said standing tall.  
"I don't know if y'all remember, but when we were discussing where to go, a couple of days back in the farm, I said that we were better "caged away from the world?" She licked her lips momentarily before continuing ensuring that she had everyone's attention.

"I didn't remember why I said that, but I should have known. When I was reading the maps back at the Quarry Camp I began looking at alternatives. A football field, or a baseball field would've done, but they are in a high risk zone in the city. It would be almost impossible to get through to the core. So as a temporary alternative I noted that there is a prison nearby it's called West Georgia Correctional Facility. I would like to suggest that we make home in the prison. While we gather supplies to leave and Lori has her baby. Those who wish to make home and stay can do as they wish, the rest is welcome in Crescent Haven Hall."

No one dared utter a single word. Their eyes danced between hers and Ricks. Unsure of what to think or respond.

"Thoughts..?" She looked at Daryl hoping, yearning that he would at least look her way. Rick remained quiet.  
She turned to face him, expecting a bold reaction. Instead he seemed lost deep in his thoughts.

"You wanted a leader you got a leader," Rick suddenly said.  
She turned to look at him stunned. Everyone in the group seemed to share her look.

With that he moved forward and took a seat with his family. Lori looked at him concerned. Carl only hugged his father.

She looked at the people before her apprehensively. This was it. This was her chance.

"We've lost too many people over stupid mistakes. Mistakes that could easily be avoided. Disagreements," she explained.

"I've always believed that a good leader surrounds him or herself with followers that exceed and excel the leader's owns skills and experience. So I ask you to surround me and indulge me with your own individual skills. Know that I will heavily rely on all of you. Everyone will serve a different purpose in this camp and together we will thrive and survive."

She took a deep breath.

"I will not force you to do anything you do not want and I will not force you to stay against your will. Just know, that the odds of you surviving, they are significantly greater if you decide to stay."

She doctor stood before all of them. All of their eyes were focused on her. Their looks all reflected the uncertainty about what the future might hold for them. She could also see fear in them doubt, hesitation. She felt there was a knot in her throat preventing her from speaking only becoming growing in size as each second passed.  
s  
The worst part was that she had even worse problems to deal with. She was alone. Completely ostracized form the group, and yet responsible for all their souls. Knowing that the "Cat-Man", as Sophia had called him, was lurking around the area ran chills down her spine. And the fact that Shane could come in at any moment yearning for his revenge did not make matters any better.

She stood alone before the survivors. She had finally gotten what she wanted. She had the leadership of the group in the palms of her hands.

She wished that she could be home soon.

Despite her leadership, despite taking one step forward in her main goal, she had never felt lonelier, more uncertain and terrified than ever.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Phew, after a year I can't believe I finally finished the first part of this story. I really wanted to build a strong background story before I progressed to more dense content, and I'm glad I did. The story changed and grew so much in all the re-reading and re-writing I did in that year.

The next book of this story will be called: "Under the Gun" (which was supposed to be the original name of this story #funfact .)

Thank you so much for the faves and the reviews, they make my day! I always appreciate both good and positive feedback.

Thank you so much for the support everyone. 3


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